There is such strength, depth, and courage in a grateful heart. No matter how much we have on our plate, no matter how challenging or exhausting life may be and feel, gratitude is a game changer.

It lights up our hearts. With gratitude, we appreciate the small moments of connection, we appreciate the light in our children’s eyes, the joy in their step, and blessing of having them in our lives.

With gratitude, we appreciate our health, the roof over our heads, the food that we eat, the car that we drive and our ability to be so much to so many, including ourselves.

Gratitude is the balm that heals us inside, that gives us a new perspective, that brings us fully present in the moment and able to enjoy it no matter what the phenomenon is on the ground.

Life is not easy on this beautiful planet. There’s a lot of dissension and stress. There’s a lot of ‘us versus’ them energies, encouraging us to see the differences in each other, instead of the similarities.

There’s a lot of focus on what we are not, not pretty enough, smart enough, successful enough, rich enough, good enough.

The Truth is: What we focus on is what we get more of in our lives.

If we focus on everything that we find irritating, frustrating and unfair, we will attract more things in our lives that feel irritating, frustrating, and unfair.

If we focus on what we’re grateful for, the moments that make our heart sing and open us up to more love, then we will attract more of that, more moments to be grateful for, more moments of experiencing the love and support that is within us and available to us.

Take a moment and look at your life. What are you grateful for? What could you be grateful for? Where could you welcome more gratitude, appreciation, and love into your heart?

We can start with the foundations in life: the roof over our heads, our car and comfortable bed, the food in our fridge and pantry. We can be grateful for all the things that we have and don’t have to worry about, the things that keep us safe and bring comfort into our lives. We can choose to take nothing for granted and see what we’ve created for ourselves with new eyes.

We can notice that how we are, the presence that we bring to our family that impacts our experience. Is it loving or not? If not, how could I bring more gratitude and love to myself and them? What do I need to feel and act differently? What would it look like to bring my patient, loving heart to myself and the people in my life?

A simple way to upgrade our experience is to start and maintain a Gratitude Log: Each evening we record two things that we are grateful for and appreciate in our heart of hearts. Every morning, we read what we’ve written in the past 48 hours, allow that gratitude to sink into our hearts and to become a part of us as we go about our day.

With our Gratitude Log, we remember what we love about our life. We remind ourselves what brings us joy, the moments that bless our lives every day. Gratitude turns our angry, frustrated, irritable self into a being filled with contentment and joy.

We choose how we see and experience the world. We choose how we respond to the events in our lives. We can acknowledge our feelings and flood ourselves with our gratitude, appreciation, and love.

We can start and finish each day with, “Thank you, truly thank you for all the blessings in my life.” A grateful heart supports a balanced, peaceful life. We create work-life balance from the inside out as we bring a grateful heart to ourselves, our life, and the world.