The Power of Gratitude

Book excerpt: Discover how to actively be more grateful, and how this can lead to greater happiness and well-being. Discover how to actively be more grateful, and how this can lead to greater happiness and well-being. Can being more grateful change your life? Ongoing research suggests that it does. Practicing gratitude has a positive impact on the brain and changes the way we feel about the world—and each other. It transforms our lives from the inside out—and The Power of Gratitude explains how. Gratitude extends far beyond the ritual of sharing gifts or saying thank you. It is a form of recognition—a way of appreciating the kindness, beauty, and wonder that life has to offer. Gratitude connects us to one another and to the world we live in. It increases our wish to nurture, help, and protect one another—and increases our sense of belonging. Included are practical and conscious ways to embrace gratitude that have lasting meaning, from creative ways to turn a simple thank you into a heartfelt gift to strategies to help us to see life with brighter eyes. Try keeping a gratitude journal, whether on paper or using an app, or making a gratitude altar. Discover meditations to end your day on a grateful note and to help you find your way back to thankfulness when times are hard. You will soon find that gratitude becomes a way of life and will reap the benefits, both emotional and physical.