It’s easy to become wrapped up in what is wrong and difficult in our lives, but when we shift our perspective, life gets better.

Grief and gratitude go hand in hand. Knowing sorrow aligns your heart with gratitude.

Before we zoom over Thanksgiving on our way to Christmas/New Years/Spring Break/Next Summer, I would like to pause to consider the most basic and greatest of gratitudes: the privilege of being here at all.

Christmas has come and gone and the ceaseless conveyor belt of time carries us on into a brave new year, a year that one can only pray will include an impeachment hearing.

We all have so much, so many gifts that we open and then casually toss aside in our overabundance of good fortune.

It is far too easy to become wrapped up in what is “wrong” in our lives, far too easy to slip into self-pity and to forget that this moment is but a point on an infinite trajectory.

Life is an energy exchange of giving and receiving. When we fail to offer sincere gratitude, we become disconnected and isolated. We lose our sense of place and connection.

Cultivating happiness is both simple and difficult. It’s not esoteric, but it is very hard to practice on a daily basis. These simple steps will help.