I'm starting to get nervous about what I'll say at the Thanksgiving dinner table. You see our tradition is to go around the table and everyone has to say something he or she is thankful for before we begin the meal. We usually have somewhere around 20 people gathered so this can take awhile. The kids have it easy. They say things like, "I'm thankful there are no lima beans on the table" or "I'm glad we don't have school today". But we adults don't have it so good. I'll have something prepared like, "I'm thankful for my husband and children" and then the first person who speaks will say exactly that!

As people speak one by one, I start thinking, "Oh that was good" or "Why didn't I think of that?" and then I start to feel a trickle of sweat run down my back. Seriously how can this be so hard? I'm thankful for a million things. Is it that I can't narrow it down? Is it that I know everyone is listening so I feel like what I say should be profound? Probably all of the above.

So now I'm trying to decide, do I come up with a fabulous line that includes everyone I can think of or do I wing it and say the first thing that comes into my head like, "I'm glad I'm not vomiting right now". Obviously that's not a good idea!

And here's the other thing. By the time we get to the 7th or 8th person, everyone has pretty much tuned the talking out and is clearly thinking, "Can we just eat already?" So it has to be short and sweet.

How bout if I just position myself so I'll be the last one speaking and I can just say, "ditto" or "what she said". I guess it's not really about what we say. It's about recognizing that there is so much to be thankful for and making sure we give our gratefulness a voice. And then stuff it with turkey!

Have you ever noticed that happiness is contagious?  There's nothing like the belly laugh of a small child or the feeling of being met at the door by your dog who is oozing pure joy to have you home.  Being mindful and taking time to stop and experience, appreciate and express these moments of love and joy is the root of gratitude.  

Greek philosopher, Cicero said "gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."  Gratitude is often thought of as something that comes after the blessings in life.  It's our way of saying thank you for the good fortune we have experienced.  However, have you ever thought that maybe it's a cycle that begins with gratitude and then the blessings follow?  

One of my favorite sayings is about flipping your thinking, and rather than saying I'll believe it when I see it; say I'll see it when I believe it!  To me this means that first we must be grateful for all that we have right now, regardless of any negative circumstances, and then our circumstances will begin to change.  

Our Wisdom Symbol is a reminder to fuel our core energy with joy and to live our lives from the inside out.  We believe that joy is an inside job, and that we need to actively seek joy so that we can be responsible for our own well-being and happiness!  

When we spend time looking for positive aspects in our lives, we begin a perpetual cycle of positivity.  This means that when we believe that life is full of joy, we will begin to see more joyful things appear in our lives.  Because the truth is, what we look for in life is what we see.  So if we make the conscious choice to look for positive aspects and be grateful for what we have, we will suddenly see more and more of that which we will be grateful for!  You can jump start this cycle anytime.  Why not start NOW?!?!