Be Grateful!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope that tomorrow brings each one of you a good measure of joy and gratitude wherever you will be: sitting around a large table, enjoying a quiet afternoon at home, or traveling to see loved ones. And for those of us for whom this holiday will underline those no longer at the table, or the great distance between how things used to be and how they are now, or our worries for the future, may God grant you a good measure of comfort and hope.

Around Thanksgiving we often hear the admonition to "be grateful"! Or to "give thanks"! And maybe we keep a gratitude journal, or we share our blessings around the Thanksgiving table. But how else can we "be grateful"?

Check out the Gratitude Quiz from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. It assesses how grateful we are, and then offers suggestions for increasing our gratitude through different practices. (I just took the quiz, and found that I can increase my gratitude quite a bit. I am going to try the "three good things" journaling exercise over the weekend.)

Savor these days, and may each one of you travel safely, love boldly, and give thanks joyfully!