We are inundated with tips, lists, and self-help gurus telling us the key to happiness. Peoples definition of happiness can come in many shapes and forms. The form I am learning in life at the moment, is that happiness and joy, simply come from being thankful.

We recently celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with our family. All I could feel the whole time was thankful and grateful. The most simple tasks made me feel thankful. Being able to run clean drinking water, setting the table for our family, and divulging in turkey dinner made me overwhelmed with gratitude.

Simply connecting one with the other, I am happy when I am thankful. Being thankful is an attitude. You have to choose to be thankful, it is not just something that gives you warm fuzzy feelings. We too often find it easier to complain about life and situations instead of looking at all we have and being grateful for it. Trust me when I say, you have more than someone else does; materially, emotionally, socially. Think really hard about it, no matter how down and out you are, someone out there is worse off than you. This is not to downplay that we have times of struggle. It is a thought to think when your struggles are getting the best of you. It is powerful to have the ability to turn what is bad in your mind and redirect it to what is good in your life. When you chose to live with an attitude of gratitude, you will unlock the enchanted bliss of happiness. Tho it is a simple concept, it is not always easy to achieve. I hear people complain all the time, I do it myself at times. As human beings, it is effortless to look at what you do not have instead of what you already possess. This reaches further than the material and extends to relationships, success, and whatever in life we do not have that we think would make us happy.

In Canada we are heading into an election in under a week now. It has been astonishing to hear the brash demeanour that has flooded social media in the wake of such an important decision. I have travelled to many other countries where democracy does not exist. Trust me when I say we need to be thankful on our hands and knees for the country we live in. Maybe it is too hard for people to understand or grasp the freedoms we have because they have never been without. We have so many rights as humans in this country that I am eternally grateful for.

Being thankful for what you have drastically changes your point of view in everything. Imagine how different life will feel if we always walk in thankfulness and gratitude for the small and the big. Changing our hearts and words to what is good and kind from a heart that is thankful will not only change our world, it has the power to change someone else’s too. Being happy starts with being thankful.

∼live your journey true∼