Years ago I read a book called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach that changed my life. In that book, the author asks that at the end of each day, write down at least 3 things for which you are grateful. At that time I was going through a divorce, and it was difficult to think about being grateful. I remember how hard it was to think of even 3 things to be grateful. What a dark place I was in then. Today I can write pages and pages about the daily things I have to be grateful for in my life. Just to realize the progress I have made in my life of opening my world to the abundance life provides is such a gift. I am so grateful. I am reminded of all I have to be grateful for as I hear about crisis like Hurricane Sandy. Why does it take crisis like this to get our attention, to wake us up?

I am so pleased that I have chosen to be a spiritual empowerment coach because I have the privilege of helping people fulfill some of their dreams, to tap into their gifts and to see how much is available in their lives. They leave our sessions feeling much more grateful for all they have and have to offer the world.

In one of my coaching lessons, we talk about how do you make every day special? One of the ways is to become aware of how much you have to be grateful for in each day. When we focus on something, we give it power, we create more of it. Just think of things like: how nice it is to wake up in the morning; how nice it is to have had a bed and warm place to sleep and live; how nice it is to have someone to care about you, or check in with you; how nice it is to have a job or an income coming in; or how blessed you are to have your health, to be able to walk or run. Did someone smile at you today? Did someone hold a door open for you today? Did you do a kind deed for someone today? It’s mostly a matter of really paying attention to life and all the ways we really have to give and receive gratitude. Where we you begin?

The greatest prayer you can say is “Thank you.”

What a lesson in my life it has been to be more grateful. For so much of my life, I took all these things for granted. I didn’t think about making each day special by acknowledging the great things that have happened in my day or the multitude of things I had to be grateful. I hope with this Thanksgiving month, you take a moment each evening and write down at least 3 things you are grateful for in your day and life.