For me, gratitude is a multitude of things. Happiness, kindness, better health, quality sleep, relaxation, love, appreciation, strong marriage, and less illness. These are only a few intangible things gratitude adds to our life. 
I thought this article appropriate for this time of year. It is a time when we give up our time to each other, we share gifts, money and our lives too.
A friend confided; she did not know how to be grateful. I said, “let’s change the word to thankful,” it did help. She also asked, “what do I have to be thankful for and how do I do it?” My thoughts floated back to when I started my first daily gratitude journal.
I told her cultivating gratitude is a skill like everything new we tackle and add to our lives. I explained how to keep a five-minute daily written journal of tangible things she can see and feel to be thankful for.
An example was her car, the meals friends prepared when she was sick, the sun, a good night’s sleep, the pain that sent her to the doctor and discovered a serious health problem, her healthy children, her job and her apartment. I ask her to quickly write ten things she is grateful for and do this each morning for a month.
Promoting gratitude does not have to be done on paper. It can be done in any place you are awake and aware. You can say silent thank you for a gift, a smile, a phone call, or something really big like getting your dream job.
Gratitude can be done in person when someone does something for you. Your hairdresser, your waiter, your doctor, or the bus driver delivering you to your stop safely.
And let’s not forget, phone calls, text, email, and a nicely written note.
Cultivating gratitude is a skill. After several weeks of practice, the ability to generate feelings of gratitude and happiness on command comes to you easily and can affect the way you feel.
“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.” Rumi
Know gratitude is not a cure-all but it sure makes all aspects of your life happier, healthier and longer.
Let me know what gratitude means to you in the comment below. We are grateful for your comments.
Honor Yourself!