Gratitude is the key to living in the space of joy and meaning. People often pay lip service to gratitude, but really living from the place of genuine thanks will transform your life.

There are many good gratitude exercises to develop the habit of being thankful on a moment to moment basis. Here’s a simple one that will change your life.

I’ll bet you can relate to the following:

Can you remember a few times in the past when you were sick, like a flu, sinus infection, or just a sore throat and/or stuffy nose and head? Sure you can.

I’m willing to be that on many occasions when you were ill, the thought crossed your mind that you often take for granted how great it feels just to be NOT sick. Does that make sense to you?

I recall when I was a child, every time I came down with something I wanted so badly just to get back to normal, and it really struck me how I took good health for granted. So now I OFTEN take a moment just to be truly grateful and happy for the fact that I’m healthy (and not sick) in this moment.

Think about it: Compare any moment in your day when you’re at top health to a time when you were stuck in bed, sick to your stomach or maybe totally unable to breathe through your nose. This will instantly make you feel better about where you are.

Generally speaking we want to affirm with positive sentiment; i.e. it’s not the best route to focus on “not sick” – much better to just take a deep breath and enjoy your health. However I find this contrast exercise definitely has its place in life and can really enhance the feelings of gratitude at any given time.

This is about using the law of relativity to your advantage. So even if you have serious health issues your job is to think of a time when things were worse and let your body and your mind feel really good about how much better off you are right now.

It sounds simple but give it a try. And keep playing with this little exercise for the next week or two; before long it will become a habit and you’ll be living with more gratitude in your life.

The more grateful you are, the happier you must be in each moment. Plus your sincere feelings of thanks will make everything in your life more vibrant and appealing – AND it will help bring even more good things to you.

I hope you’ll consider this message and integrate the basic practice into your life.