Gratitude is love. Love is Gratitude. Unhappy people lack gratitude and appreciation. Instead of focusing on what they have and what is working in their lives, they focus on what they don’t have and what’s not working. I have learned to see the gift in every situation that enters my life.

I still wear the Flight Attendant hat with my uniform when I am working. I can have on the same uniform, same make-up and jewelry, yet I don’t get compliments unless I am feeling gratitude and joy. My coworkers swear I get many compliments because I am wearing the uniform hat. I tell them, “I actually get more compliments when I am not wearing my uniform and hat. I get compliments because my smile is a result of my inner joy from being grateful for the many blessings I have in my life.”

Daily, I write out ten things in my journal I am grateful for. Before going to bed at night and before I get out of bed, I give thanks and gratitude. While driving to work, I give thanks for being safe while driving, for having safe roads to travel on and for having a job. Giving thanks while driving to work is a buffer from my many co-workers. At 5:00 a.m. on the employee bus, my coworkers bitch and complain. When I don’t have gratitude and appreciation, my days aren’t joyful.

The other day my boyfriend asked me, “How do you define love?” I define love as gratitude and appreciation. I love my boyfriend because he appreciates me. Daily he gives me a list of the many things I do for him that he appreciates. I do the same for him. The glue to our love is a substance called “gratitude.” To think you can have it for free!

Someone told me they were grateful for traffic lights remaining green so they could get through intersections safely. This is an example of many important blessings we take for granted. When I walk across a crosswalk and drivers stop their cars for me, I say thank you. People have asked me why I say thank you when the drivers are supposed to stop. I am simply thankful for cars stopping. This way I get to keep my limbs attached. Because someone is supposed to do something doesn’t mean they will do it.

In the 90’s when money was flourishing for many, I often heard people brag about how good their God was to them. With the economy being the way it is, I rarely hear people give thanks or show gratitude. I feel we Americans still have too much stuff. The state of the economy gives me an opportunity to re-do and re-learn and to discover what is important. More than ever my experiences are greater to me than stuff.

I invite you to share your gratitude stories and list on mygratefulness blog . You can share your gratitude and stories daily, weekly, monthly or whenever you feel the desire to spread your joy to the world. Click here to read others gratitude stories.  By sharing your gratitude stories, the world gets to savor more love. Join me and experience daily miracles by sharing with the world your gratefulness.

My Gratitude List:

1. I am thankful for my health.

2. I am thankful for my food, water and shelter.

3. I am thankful for my automobile for being safe and reliable.

4. I am thankful for creditors for trusting me with credit.

5. I am thankful for my employer for giving me a job that grants me pay, health insurance and flight benefits.

6. I am thankful for my spirit for being open to communication from the invisible realm.

7. I am thankful for all of my lessons in life of how to be and how not to be.

8. I am thankful for my spirit for helping me see the beauty in my employer filing chapter 11 and for having two pay cuts. As a result I have learned to save, budget and I no longer waste money and resources.

9. I am thankful for my joints, feet, toes, legs, hands and fingers for supporting me.

10. I am thankful for learning to honor myself by becoming my own best friend.

Share your gratitude and  stories list on mygratefulness blog .