Certain people seem to have this natural inclination of gratefulness. You know it from their body language. They seem at ease with the swings of life, at ease with their contribution to life and seem less inclined to stress when things don’t go their way. Getting in touch with a sense of gratefulness is at the heart of nearly every religion. When we give thanks for the blessings we receive in life, we are in a much better position to reach our full potential.

We begin to understand that we are merely pilgrims on our journey through life. We begin to appreciate that nearly everything in life is a gift, to be enjoyed and shared. These gifts can never be hoarded or can never become exclusively ours. When they do we are out of touch with the One who has given us the gift. When we have a sense of gratefulness we are indeed in a healthy place both physically and spiritually. Even when life is difficult we still try and keep a sense of gratefulness for even the tiniest of blessings.

As we move into final part of our journey through Lent, we can use the next two weeks to set aside time to be grateful. Sarah Breathnach puts it so well, “Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.” We give thanks to God for blessings received and about to receive: today and throughout the coming week.