This is a very special season. It is the season of gratitude. I'm not sure when it started. I would like to think that it started the moment I contracted for this life. Gratitude is a part of innocence and we are born with it. Then, sometime, usually in the teenage years, it slips away. It seems to be a dance that we do throughout life. We dance into gratitude, usually when things are in alignment and life is "going our way." We dance out of gratitude when things get challenging. One thing I have learned over these many years is that it is I who steps on my own toes in that dance.

I've also learned that being in gratitude really pays off when times get tough. It helps us refocus our energy, thoughts and actions, allowing us to get back in alignment much more quickly with our heart's truth. That "attitude of gratitude" is pretty magical and extremely healing. So, what does all of this have to do with the season of gratitude? We seem to dance in and out of gratitude faster this time of year. We go from a graceful Waltz to wild and out of control Jitterbug as the demands and expectations of the season pick up. It can be exhausting getting thrown, ripped and twirled through our emotional and karmic healing that occurs at the end of the year. It is almost as hard on every one around us as it is on ourselves. So, the real questions are, how do we stay in gratitude? How do we stay joyful, kind and keep humming that little tune of happiness?

Staying in gratitude or specifically, staying in the healing of gratitude, is like most things. It is a practice. The more we refocus on what is real in our hearts, the more we release those things that do not serve us. This practice is, ultimately, the action that brings our energy, health, attitude and well-being into sync. When we lose our sense of humor and well-being, we bore ourselves and feel pretty empty. (We also bore those around us!)

Refocusing is quite simple, actually. Remembering to do it is a bit more of a challenge. We all need to whine and complain from time to time because it does bring the negative energy we are holding into focus to be released. Once it has our attention, we can release it easily, simply and quickly by refocusing on what we have gratitude for. It may be something as simple as that piece of pumpkin pie that we had for dinner yesterday or the smile of a child on the street or our friends who love us through our whining. It can be simply that it is snowing or we are alive. There is no size to gratitude, only the recognition that something out there is feeding our souls and our lives.

As we practice taking that breath of life and putting our attention on something we are "greatful" for (being full of greatness for or because of), something magical begins to happen. We begin to laugh more easily and smile more readily. We relax, our shoulders drop from our ears and we get back into alignment easily and quickly. It is effortless and natural. It is the magic of gratitude.

I wish you all a little magic this season. May you breathe easily, enjoy the world and the happiness that is all around you, and walk a little lighter because you are connected to all that is good through gratitude.

Blessings for a joyful season,