National Gratitude Month

Do you practice gratefulness? Are you grateful? Do you find it hard to be grateful?

Sometimes it is hard to be grateful , especially in times, like now, when there is so much sadness, unjust actions and all else that make it difficult to see and appreciate the happiness around us and actions that are actually just..

However, I would like to encourage you to purposely take time to be grateful.

Being grateful does not mean we ignore the sadness and unjust actions. Instead, it means, we acknowledge them and work on ways within our control to bring about change. It means, at the same time, we realize that being grateful helps us to live healthier lives. Therefore, we simultaneously acknowledge the reasons we are grateful.

• Think about the people in your life that you are grateful for. Tell them you are grateful that they are apart of your life.
• Think about the things in your life that you have acquired; the things that you have been given, those you have earned. Verbalize to yourself and others why you are grateful for those things.
• Think about the experiences you’ve had that made you happy, the ones that made you feel loved and appreciated. Write down the reasons why those experiences resulted in feelings of happiness, love and appreciation.

Practice gratitude throughout the year. Not just during the month of November. In fact, I would encourage you to practice gratitude daily, multiple times a day. The more we focus on the people, things and experiences we are grateful for, the more equipped we become, to handle the people, things and experiences that are challenging.