First of all, I want to say how grateful I am for you!

We love what we do here at Intuitive Concepts because of all of YOU!  Life would be much less interesting if we didn’t have a lot of people in our lives. Sure, it could be more peaceful, but what is life without friends and family?

It can get challenging when we’re all together during the holidays, so we have provided 7 simple Gratitude Practices for you.

Gratitude Is A Powerful Approach to Navigating the Holidays

Not only do you feel better when you are grateful, but your body also works better when you practice gratitude consistently. It’s been proven that gratitude helps you:

  • Build a stronger immune system
  • Be less bothered by aches and pains
  • Lower your blood pressure
  • Exercise more and take better care of your health
  • Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking
  • Have higher levels of positive emotions
  • Be more alert, alive, and awake
  • Experience more joy and pleasure
  • Have more optimism and happiness
  • Be more helpful, generous, and compassionate
  • Be more forgiving
  • Be more outgoing
  • Feel less lonely and isolated

It’s easier than you may think to practice gratitude on a daily basis. I know from experience how powerful gratitude is. It’s helped me through tough times in my life and kept me in the game.

Pick the one practice below that appeals to you most and try it for a week. Then reflect on how to strengthen your attitude of gratitude.

  1. Before going to sleep at night, think of 3 things for which you are grateful. You can write them in a journal. Try to think of new ones each night. THEY CAN BE SMALL: your ability to breathe. The roof over your head. Your pet. A funny video or photo.
  2. Before you sit down to eat, pause for a moment and think about all the people that were involved in getting that food to sit on your plate – from the people who planted the seeds, to those that drove the trucks, to the people who cooked it.
  3. Go for a walk and notice all the miracles and beauty. Say thank you for existing.
  4. Read poetry for inspiration on how to be grateful. The poet Mary Oliver is especially wonderful – she notices the tiniest bits in nature and writes about them so beautifully. Rumi is deeply moving.
  5. Think about someone in your life for whom you are grateful – it could be a teacher who believed in you, a neighbor who always has a smile for you in the morning or a pet that regularly makes you laugh. Write a letter to them and tell them.
  6. Create a “gratitude jar” – every day, write something you are thankful for on a little slip of paper, and put it in the jar. When you need a lift, go to the jar, which will remind you of something good.
  7. Give of yourself – volunteer, drive a friend to the doctor, make food for someone who is sick. I promise you that when you help others, you will become more grateful.

It’s my wish that you have a happy, healthy, and fun Thanksgiving. We appreciate YOU!

May you be exceedingly, generously, and joyfully blessed,©

~Diana Garber, Feng Shui Master