Things we often don't notice and appreciate until we realized we could lose them.
How many times have we realized how wonderful it is simply to be healthy following a bout of illness?
We can even find things to be thankful for in the midst of difficulties.
For example, we might be distressed to have to take a child to the emergency room in the middle of
the night, but can be grateful to have 24 hour access to medical care.
A word of caution here.
Be careful about urging others to practice gratitude when they're going through a hard time.
It can easily feel invalidating or dismissive of the struggles they're having.
There are many ways to practice gratitude, such as writing down things you are grateful for each day,
spending a few to a few minutes, recalling things you are thankful for, verbalizing your gratitude
to a person in your life, delivering a letter to someone in which you express your gratitude to them.
Practice gratitude meditation.
Recent research suggests that expressing our gratitude to others is even more effective than simply
reflecting on it and may be most effective when we are feeling depressed.
Take a few moments now to think about what you're grateful for in your life.