“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

For many of us, gratitude often appears to be something you have, not something you practice. Practicing gratitude can have a profound effect on the quality of your day, your health, and it enriches your whole life.

Consider this inspiration from Roshi John Daido Loori who has said that expressing gratitude is transformative, just as transformative as expressing complaint:

“Imagine an experiment involving two people. One spends ten minutes each morning and evening expressing gratitude, while the other spends the same amount of time practicing complaining. One subject is saying things like, ‘I hate my job. I can’t stand this apartment. Why can’t I make enough money? My spouse doesn’t get along with me. That dog next door never stops barking and I just can’t stand this neighborhood.’ The other is saying things like, ‘I’m grateful for the opportunity to work; there are so many people these days who can’t even find a job. I’m grateful for my health. What a gorgeous day; I really like this fall breeze.’ They do this experiment for a year. Guaranteed, at the end of that year the person practicing complaining will have deeply reaffirmed all his negative ‘stuff’ rather than having let it go, while the one practicing gratitude will be a very grateful person.”

It is obvious that by choosing to deliberately spend some portion of your day focusing on those things for which you are grateful, you spend that much less time stewing over what you don't have or what did not happen. Inevitably, you attract into your life that which you spend significant time thinking about.

If you don’t already have a designated time you say 'thanks', try picking an easy time for consistency. Try it upon waking or sleeping, before your morning coffee or any meal, or before or after your journey to work. I practice it after each yoga session, I take a moment to bring to mind whatever I have gratitude for at that moment. It is the perfect time to practice. Try it next time you sit quietly at the end of your practice. Bring to mind anything you are grateful for (big or small). Then send out your appreciation in return.

Or start a daily gratitude journal now and you will be in the sweet spot on Thanksgiving Day and the holidays! Simply label 21 pages in a journal. Once a day write at least one sentence (more if you can) on what you are thankful for in the moment you are writing. Try to include things that are really simple and often overlooked. And if you want to know more about just how gratitude can help make you more healthy check out, this great article, Neuroscience of Why Gratitude Makes Us Healthier, from the Huffington Post.