Gratitude: it’s not easy when everything around me tells me I need "more, different, bigger and better" in order to be happy. How, then, to be grateful for what I actually have?

I admit, I want the finer things in life (like organic food and a straw bale house!), and I have set goals to work towards the means to create these situations. Meanwhile, I make sure to be thankful for what I do have right now, because it’s helped create the situation that’s brought me this far.

Gratitude is not just being thankful for my car, my house and my full refrigerator; it’s also being thankful that I’ve got a chance to be alive, right now, and enjoy this fascinating adventure of life. Sure, things don’t always go as planned, but when I thank the challenges for giving me a chance to grow, then it’s much easier to move forward through them and create infinitely more pleasing situations in my life!

Image: Dmitry Kichenko