Gratitude is powerful stuff. It can transform anything it touches. Anything. In addition, it is always with you.

It doesn’t matter how sad, mad, hurt, scared, lonely or nervous. There is nothing a drop or two of gratitude can’t ease.  In situations most people would call intolerable, others have found the sliver of gratitude and often been able to pull themselves back, even from the darkest times.

Its truly magical power is its accessibility.  It’s never farther away than your next thought.  All you have to do to turn it on is rest your mind into one grateful thought.  Just one.

There is no one I know who couldn’t, with a moment’s thought, rattle off countless things to be grateful for.  Being alive is a start.  Breathing. Standing or sitting. Listening or speaking. Most of the people I know, wherever they are, no matter what they’re doing, they can look around and find something to warm their hearts.

Discovering how many things you can be grateful for is a delightful game with a huge payoff. Just thinking of music, sunshine, fresh water, abundant food, computer and/or smart phone, friends, family, pets, a nice home to live in, children . . . you can feel your mood lifting immediately!

I saw a documentary on the Dust Bowl.  Those people lived in constant dust, always had difficulty breathing and soon found it was killing their youngest family members.  How much we have to be grateful for with our myriad of  “mod cons” like showers and multi-layered windows, fresh air outside our doors, refrigerators.

As I take a look around me, I can see my computer, colorful pens, water, some more time ahead to write, gifts from friends, pictures of loved ones, tons of paper, pretty candles, phone numbers for all kinds of people I can reach out to.  As my eyes and mind sweep over the sundry items around me, my spirit is lightened, my mood is brighter.  Just like magic.

But even in tougher times, when I’m weary or frustrated, scared or sad, if I can just seek the jewel in everything.  Find the one thing.  At least I have _____.  There’s almost always something.  The more I can find, the more there is to find.  One thing leads to another and before I know it, I have a lapful of gratitudes!  Just the act of seeking can help see your way clear of the negative and drowning emotions.  As if we’ve just tapped our heart lightly with a wand.

As this Holiday season winds down I urge you to remember to notice all you have to be grateful for and feel its magic working in you.