It's Thanksgiving this week! we have volumes and volumes of pop literature out there now that tells us how important it is to be grateful. This is what thanksgiving is really supposed to be all about. We should of course spend every day, all year long thinking about what we have to be grateful for. Thanksgiving specifically reminds us about this. Ever notice how you feel when you get something you've been dying for? Or when some event takes place that you have been hoping would happen for the longest time? Maybe you weren't 100% sure, but you were really hoping for it and when it finally does you are absolutely elated with joy. That's gratitude. That's what it feels like. The idea is to strive for that every day. You know what happens when you are feeling like that - when you are truly in the moment? No one can touch you! Not in a negative way anyway. People can say anything they want about you or even to you and it has no effect. This is how we want to be.

We have to understand that we cannot be this way all the time. That would be a false existence, but striving towards that and recognizing that we can get a little closer to that each day is a really good goal.

Out of money? Be grateful you don't have the headaches that come with having it. Trust me I have experienced and I continue to experience both. Having a lot of money brings with it it's own set of worries. What if I lose it? How will I keep this up? I've gotten myself and my family accustomed to a certain lifestyle - how embarrassing would it be if I had to tell them we had to cut back and simplify? All things being relative of course, I have times when it feels like there is plenty to spend and get anything I want, and times when I feel like I need to watch it.

During the times when I feel like I need to watch it I am learning to look at it as an opportunity to relax. I can only do what I can do, so I kick back, watch more TV and spend more time at home with my wife and dogs and less time out spending money. All of this of course comes with the underlying knowledge that I am no slacker. I work plenty hard and that is why ultimately it all works out for me. I can't just kick back, relax and do nothing and expect The Universe to simply deliver. I have to do the footwork. As long as I know I am doing that I really have no reasons to worry - but I worry sometimes anyway. When I replace the worrying with gratitude, the worrying goes away and I can always access that great feeling that comes with getting something I have always wanted - security. I have it with me always and I can find it any time by searching fearlessly within myself, because that's where it lives. inside of me. It is based on who I am, not what I have. I'm a good person and I am always out there looking for ways to help people. It is because if this philosophy on life that I always ultimately know I will always be OK, no matter what!

So stop for just a minute today and every day. Look around yourself. If you've got a roof over your head, food on the table and people who really care about you, then you are incredibly wealthy in the senses that really matter. Everything else is potentially only temporary so you can't rely on it for your happiness.

What are you grateful for today?