The simple emotion of feeling grateful and being appreciative of the good people and things in your life.

To be honest, I often fail to demonstrate gratitude. From my own experience, it’s a skill many of us were never taught. I’m sure many of us can relate to this. Here is the honest truth, it IS possible to learn to be grateful and to also demonstrate sincere gratitude. It simply takes practice.

Even If you believe you have nothing and no one to be grateful for, I’m willing to bet you can identify at least one person or thing that had a positive impact on you. Hint, look for something or someone that may have contributed a bit of happiness to your life. Is that too hard a task to complete? I hope not. So, what are you waiting for.

Once you find the person or thing to be grateful for you should practice every day. In time, you may see a positive shift in your own attitude and the attitude of those around you. Grateful people share their gratitude with others. It makes a person feel heard, validated, and appreciated. It creates a positive environment filled goodness and sincerity. One warning though, life isn’t always filled with positive and cheerful people and experiences. In particular, watch out for those folks that want to steal your happiness away from you. You all know the old saying, “misery loves company.” When you encounter THAT person, show them a little gratitude. Sincerely Thank them by expressing your gratitude to them for helping you on your own personal life journey. You don’t have to tell them they were instrumental in showing you how NOT to behave. That can be your little secret.

So, as I end this day, I want to share that I feel a strong sense of gratitude. I’m grateful for the wonderful people in my life that continue to invest a lot of themselves in me. They are the ones that try to keep me centered and sane and, for the most part, keep me moving in the right direction. I’m grateful that I have the privilege of sharing a little about me with each of you from time to time. It’s cathartic for me and it definitely allows me a brief moment each day to reflect on the good, the bad, and everything in between……and finally, I am grateful that I can use this experience to aide me in my own life journey. I wasn’t taught to be grateful, but I’m learning to act, to demonstrate, and to be truly grateful each and every day. Thank you for coming along for the ride. I appreciate you.