Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and the plans to organize your dinner, travel, or alternative options are in the forefront of most minds. Of course, once the day comes and the check list of things to do is completed, time is set aside to express gratitude for what you have in your life. It is a wonderful tradition; however, giving thanks is most powerful when integrated as a daily part of your life. Even when times are challenging, the practice of feeling grateful not only for what you have, but also your experience in life can have a positive impact on you.

It is when you face challenges that you truly learn to feel gratitude. When you focus your attention on what you are grateful for and let the energy of this feeling circulate, you will attract more to be grateful for. It is a basic law of life that what you focus on becomes stronger. Use the power of gratitude to help yourself. But, here's the twist...you cannot use the power of gratitude with the ulterior motive to get what you want. By simply being truly grateful for what you have now, the lessons or opportunities you have experienced, and the people who have helped you, you will see more emerge to add to your gratitude list.

A great practice to start is to keep a gratitude diary. Each day, regardless if it is the fact that you woke up feeling rested, write down something you are grateful for. As you add to this diary, you will find that more ideas will arise in your mind that you did not realize before. Write it down. Keep this list nearby your bed so that it is either the first or last thing you do each day. It is easy to complain about what is not right; however, when you dwell on what is good, more good becomes visible. Perhaps start your diary now and see what is on the list by the time Thanksgiving arrives. You might surprise yourself. The key is to just keep adding to it. As you write each thing you are grateful for down, you will learn that the list will become much longer than you expected.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day when it arrives; but, more importantly, make it a point to give thanks every day for something that crosses your path. As you make this a daily part of life, you will wonder why you used to wait all year to truly experience the energy of gratefulness.

Published 11/16/2009 by www.examiner.com