In a piece timed for Thanksgiving, Arthur Brooks does a nice job of fetching up and giving links to references to a number of interesting studies on the positive effects of gratitude on well-being. Arthur Brooks is a person who my knee-jerk liberal reflexes would dictate be discounted immediately, because he is head of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. However this former academic is one clever dude (Here is an Op-Ed piece on abundance. Other commentaries are found here.)