Gratitude changes everything.  Yes everything…. Think about it.  Gratitude transforms the way you interact with your  relationships.  It fills the empty glass of your emotions.   Gratitude truly is able to say “God has worked all things together for my Good!”

For the week of Thanksgiving I want to give you some thoughts on Thankfulness and gratitude.  Over this next week as you interact with your family and friends start a discussion about what you are thankful for.  My hope and prayer is that it will create thoughts and actions of gratitude in your life.

Here  are some of the benefits of a Grateful Heart:

1. Reduces Stress – The struggle with stress is attitude and outlook.  Gratitude changes the way you view problems.  Your will recover more quickly from adversity and suffering with a grateful heart.
2. Improves Health – A regular focus on gratitude  can create a significant drop in blood pressure. Patients who cultivate a more positive, thankful attitude after having a heart attack report fewer second heart episodes for up to eight years compared with grumpier patients.
3. Improves Relationships – Their is a lot of research that describe how being positive and thankful can transform any relationship.  A grateful heart lives in the joy of the present and magnifies the positive emotions that build connection.
4. Reduces Negative Emotions – Reducing the focus on negative thoughts is a direct result of gratitude.  It will also greatly improve sleep patterns.  Gratefulness can even reduce the frequency and length of episodes of depression.
5. More Resilient with a High Sense of Self-worth – Gratitude will help you adjust and change with the stress and conflicts that each of us experience.  Several studies showed that people who have experienced trauma developed a more positive outlook after a daily meditation on gratitude. They also felt more motivated and had higher levels of self-esteem.  A grateful heart recognizes others and how they see the value in you.  This can transform the way you see yourself.

Here are some of my favorite quotes about gratitude.  Send me some of your favorite quotes or thoughts about Thanksgiving and your grateful heart.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. – Denis Waitley

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others – Cicero

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ― Marcel Proust

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. ― Epicurus

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a wonderful thanksgiving. Cultivate a thankful heart.