Ok, looks like I have a bit more to say about gratitude. Yes, I have and use spell check. ‘Thanksliving’ is correct. It’s a concept that’s becoming popular, in part because wise women like my friend, Marcia Walker, Life Coach Extraordinaire, look at their lives and ask, “What’s going on?” aka “How can I create a more joyful life?”

The common response Marcia and others give is to accept the people and circumstances in their lives EXACTLY as they are, and then go one step further and be grateful for those people and circumstances.

It doesn’t mean ignoring the bad things that are obviously part of our world (like war, injustice, violence, hunger, do I need to continue?). It means seeing things realistically and being thankful anyway. Gratitude comes from a reservoir of compassion that lives within us, not as a reaction to conditions outside of us.

Certainly there are conditions that we recognize as intolerable and not worthy of our gratitude. But instead of focusing on these things beyond doing what we can to change them, Life of Grace requires us to look within ourselves for reasons to be thankful. I’m not saying this is easy! I am saying that the more you get used to looking for opportunities to be grateful, the happier you will be.

Start by keeping a gratitude journal, in which you list things in your life that you wouldn’t normally be grateful for, but that taught you something important or brought something into your life that you would never have experienced otherwise. Add to your list each day and see how many experiences you can add to your grateful zone.