THE Gratitude Day! – 5 Tips For Making Every Day Thanksgiving

In honor of the unique American holiday, Thanksgiving, I thought I’d write to you today about something very dear to my heart – Gratitude. After all, this is what Thanksgiving is all about, right? So I have 2 questions for you to begin: 1).What are you grateful for on this day? and 2). How many days in the year do you actually devote time to giving thanks? I believe that the very happiest way to live our lives is to make every day – in some way – Thanksgiving. So to support and spread this life-affirming belief (and experience), I’d like to offer you 5 Tips for bringing the Gratitude energy of this day into every aspect of your life – 24/7-365. Ready? Here we go …

5 Tips for Making Every Day Thanksgiving Day

1. Recognize Abundance in All its Guises.

Abundance isn’t just about having lots of stuff. It’s not about bling or big bank accounts (although it can be these things too). When you really start to look at your life, you can find abundance in the tiniest of nooks and crannies. Don’t believe me? How about these … grass that bursts from between sidewalk cracks, colors in a big crayon box, choices of milk at the store, books in the library, thoughts that run through your head in a day, times in your life you’ve smiled, friendly dogs and cats in your county or state or neighborhood, flavors of ice cream … get the idea? Abundance is everywhere and, even if your life feels like a struggle right now, it’s possible for you to find an abundance of things to be grateful for with just a little bit of effort.

2. Opening your Day the Thank You Way.

I’ve been starting each day with gratitude for awhile now and I cannot recommend this highly enough. Granted, I have a long-lived spiritual practice with a number of components, but if I had to choose only 1 thing to ‘keep’ (besides meditation) for my own happiness and well-being, it would be waking up and thinking of 5 or 6 things I’m grateful for. Try it, you’ll see!

3. When Life Sucks, Remember the 4 ‘Elements’.

Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Without these, we die. So when I notice my thoughts taking a downward spiral, I thank Mother Earth for supporting me, I thank the sky and air I breath, I thank the fire that transforms energies and of course, the water that I am able to drink, the water that keeps me alive.

4. Take a Deep Breath. And …

when the above “fail” to shift you to a place of thanksgiving for all that you ARE and all that you HAVE, then take a deep, slow breath. And another. And another. Deep breathing 3-7 times will help you shift your energy and focus. Deep breaths open the door, so to speak, so that you can step out of the closet of negitude and into a new frame of mind.

5. The Mantra (or: “Fake it ’til ya Make it”).

Finally, sometimes you just plain one gotta fake it. That’s okay, s**t happens. When none of the above are helping you feel better, try this for 2 minutes straight, 3-5 times throughout the day: “This too shall pass, I’m thankful for this breath. This too shall pass, I’m thankful for this breath. This too shall pass, I’m thankful for this breath. This too shall pass, I’m thankful for this breath …”