This is the month for Thanksgiving. But so can be every month — every day, for that matter. Giving thanks is not meant to be confined to one holiday. In fact, being grateful can make every day a holy day.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving,
turn routine jobs into joy,
and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
~ William Arthur Ward

Gratitude is one of the most powerful feelings you can experience. For one, it makes you feel good.

Even when you are feeling down in the dumps, or angry or stressed out, gratitude will make you feel better.

Try this experiment: stop whatever you are doing and place your palms over your heart. Breathe in slowly, as if each breath is flowing into your heart. While continuing to breathe this way, feel gratitude — intentionally bring on the feeling of gratitude by thinking of someone or something for which you are grateful. Let the feeling warm your heart. And if you haven’t already started smiling, which you probably have, start smiling along with the breath and the feeling of gratitude. Continue for a minute or two… or three … or for the rest of your life!

How do you feel now? Notice how easily and quickly you were able to improve how your feel. You feel more like you, or as we say in yoga, you feel more like your Self. Feeling gratitude gives back your Self.

Gratitude is healing and transformative. Gratitude opens your heart and literally opens arteries. It lowers your blood pressure (high blood pressure is one of the strongest risk factors for cardiovascular disease). It fends off depression, stress and anxiety, which can also increase the risk of heart disease.

Gratitude also affects your brain and improves your mental health. The Mindfulness Awareness Research center of UCLA states that feeling gratitude changes the neural structures in the brain, and makes you feel happier and more content.

Being content means being thankful for what you have. Being thankful for what you have brings a brighter outlook on life. Oprah Winfrey said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Your outlook becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Gratitude is a life enhancer and even a life saver. Feeling gratitude and appreciating others triggers beneficial hormones and neurotransmitters that help with your emotional state and reduce anxiety and stress. Researchers have also found that gratitude can enhance your sleep, improve your relationships, protect you from illness, and motivate you to exercise.

There is always something to be grateful for. Gratitude can get you through the worst of times. Here is an example of how gratitude is making a difference for healthcare workers in the midst of the pandemic:

Around the country, nurses and healthcare facilities are participating in the Gratitude Practice for Nurses program. The program was created by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley in conjunction with the American Nurses Foundation. They recognized that nurses were putting the welfare of their patients before their own. So they initiated the program to help nurses gain a better appreciation for their profession and one another, and to deal with the stress, improve their well-being and build positive relationships in the workplace.

A Toolkit is provided for nurses and nurse managers, offering research-based strategies for fostering gratitude. For example, in the busy corridors of several participating hospitals, a “Gratitude Tree” hangs from the wall. Its foliage is a cluster of Post-it leaves, each bearing a handwritten note. The notes begin with a printed prompt “Today I am grateful for….”, followed by a note written by a nurse who passed by. Even with the pandemic pressures and time restraints, nurses will stop for a moment to take in someone else’s expression of gratitude, or add their own note of thanks.

The program is working. Nurses are practicing gratitude daily. They are bringing more gratitude to both their professional and personal lives. They are bringing it to their families. And as a result, they feel more positive and optimistic.