Gratitude

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.

~Don Moen

In the February 2013 issue of Good Housekeeping (my reading of choice on the train ride home from NYC), there is an article entitled, 2 Little Words.  The author, Janice Kaplan, states that one of the simplest steps you can take to boost happiness in your life is to be thankful - to have and express gratitude.  According to Kaplan, recent studies have shown that feeling grateful and expressing it "...decreases stress, increases happiness, and general makes people feel better about life."

Kaplan tells stories about men and women who have decided to make gratitude a focal part of their day - to develop a "gratitude habit" whereby they end each day expressing thanks for something that has happened that day - looking for the positive, and spreading appreciation to those around them.  As I read the article, I wondered if it were possible to end every day thinking about one thing for which I am grateful.  That would certainly guarantee that I would approach most of my day looking for positive blessings.  I've decided to try it for thirty days and see what happens.

Things for which we are grateful don't always have to be big acts of kindness or tremendous moments; we can be thankful for the smallest portion of our day or something that others might deem insignificant.  Tonight, I am very thankful for generous friends and family who gave me small gift cards during the holiday season.  I was able to do some shopping today, purchasing necessities at Target and a few groceries at Kroger's without paying almost anything out of pocket.  And I still have cards for Dollar Tree, Panera, Kohl's, Lowe's and Boulevard Flowers (a local nursery).

To those individuals who shared with me

the gift of choices (gift cards),

Thank you.