Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year for reaching out to clients, friends and family. This holiday should be centered around gratitude. Parents demonstrate their gratitude throughout the holiday season by cooking and sharing large bountiful dinners with all the trimmings and inviting others outside the family to join them. (Yes, the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and the New Year!) People line up to help soup kitchens and churches by cooking and serving food, bringing clothes and offering shelter to those who don’t have families or a home. Co-workers and friends reach out to others with a small gift or baked good, writing a heartfelt note, or just picking up the phone and asking how they are doing or “do you need a hand?” All of these things happen more consciously this time of year. I contend that those actions are the direct result of thinking how very grateful we are first. So why gratitude? What is it about gratitude that impacts us?

I believe that gratitude is the key to happiness. Yes, I know that’s a pretty bold statement. However, many other influential “thought doctors” support my sentiment. Bother David Steindl-Rast is quoted as saying “The root of joy is gratefulness.” You see, your fears disappear and abundance shows up when you are grateful. I have read that the more grateful you are, the more beauty you see around you. You vibrate at a higher frequency and begin to attract much better things to you. Gratitude also transmutes what we have into enough. It is wonderful to have “enough” each and every day.
Esteemed author Amy Collette teaches, “Gratitude is a catalyst for happiness and it’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” No one succeeds alone and having gratitude for those professionals and mentors, teachers, trainers, good friends or family members who support us on our journey, deserve our gratefulness. In turn, our energy expands and our hearts open up to share our bounty with others. We also attract more opportunities, more joy, more satisfaction, more abundance and the cycle continues around and around and around while blessing all those it touches.

Oprah said it well. “Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up with more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never ever have enough.” Is your cup half full, half empty, or over flowing?

I am eternally thankful and grateful for you all during this special season.
Amy Hawke