With Thanksgiving coming up in just a few days, I thought I would open the week with a focus on gratitude- being thankful for what we have.

What you may not realize is that no matter your situation, there is always something to be grateful for and that is the key that unlocks a flood of gratitude, leading to an awareness of what is good in your life and ultimately more good comes pouring in as you are already on the lookout for it and attracting it. It may be that you are simply grateful for the sun- that is one that gets me every time! Or, you are grateful for your apartment, or friends, or book you are reading, or health or the food that you eat.

Another way to look at this is to be grateful for all the things you don’t have. In our Western culture we often associate success and status with material things- but the more things you have the more time and energy is spent on taking care of those things. So, in reality- you may have just what you need and instead of lusting after all the things you don’t have, you can be grateful that they are not yours.

These past six months, I have bought the least amount of things at any given time in my adult life. It was a half-conscience decision- I wanted to focus on the first step of sustainable fashion and not consume more articles of clothing, making do with what I have to reinvent my look for seasonal trends. The other part was that I just didn’t feel a need for anything. Here and there I will bring in a new article of clothing or a new tube of make-up, but for the most part I am in a “use it ‘til it’s dead” mentality and it has bred a very amiable and non-stressed life.

The last thing is to be grateful for the normalcy of life. How often we take for granted that we have electricity, running water, a more than adequate food supply, the Internet! Being able to appreciate that this life is privileged in and of itself is a wonderful and humble place to be- a place where you can cultivate a grateful heart.