A Sweet New Year full of gratitude

Welcome to my Monday Morning Message

Recently Ron and I spent the evening with our dear neighbors. I love being around people who read widely and think deeply. The conversation is often enlightening.

Last night it turned to gratitude. My neighbor mentioned something he'd read recently: that gratitude may be the real secret to happiness. That happy people are grateful, and grateful people are happy. The two are hard to pull apart.

But gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Our minds are often wired to notice what's missing, not what's already here. We may notice the bad traffic, not that we got home safely.

Perhaps gratitude is less like a light switch and more like a muscle: it has to be used to grow stronger, and it weakens if we neglect it.

Some days it takes real effort to notice the good instead of the gap.

But like any muscle, the more we exercise it, the more natural it becomes. We start noticing what we have rather than what we lack.

Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. It comes ten days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

It is a time of reflection and renewal. It's an invitation to pause, take stock of your life, appreciate what you have, and consider who you want to be in the year ahead.

Although Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday, its message belongs to all of us. We can all begin again.
We can all look more carefully at the people and blessings surrounding us.
And we can choose thankfulness and gratitude.

Not because everything is perfect, but because even in an imperfect life, there is still goodness to notice.

Feeling grateful today? Don't be shy! Call a friend, call your Mom, your Dad, or a teacher, and tell them you are grateful for having them in your life.

I wish all my Jewish friends a Shanah Tovah. And I wish all of us a good and sweet new year, entered with grateful hearts, open minds, and a renewed appreciation for the beautiful people around us.

In Happiness and Gratitude,

Colette