As the Thanksgiving holiday gets closer many of us start to think of all the things we're thankful for. When that special day arrives our news feeds begin to fill up with posts from friends and family expressing their thankfulness for everything that’s happened to them since, well... last Thanksgiving. I know I do. It's as if I sit down with my people, eat some pumpkin pie and suddenly realize that I have a lot to be thankful for - I am healthy, happy and I am loved.

But shouldn’t we be grateful all year round? John Kabat-Zinn, scientist, writer and meditation teacher thinks so,

“It seems like in America there’s only one day a year that you’re supposed to stop and be grateful for what it is that you actually have. The other 364 days you run around desperately trying to get more of what you don’t have and push away what you don’t want. What I’m suggesting is that we reverse that and start to really tune into the miraculous qualities of being alive.”

To practice gratitude we must practice mindfulness. There are lots of ways to be mindful - from meditation to prayer to being in nature to yoga.

This year let's all be more mindful and grateful for everything we have not only on special days but EVERY day.

One idea to be more mindful of what we already have is to create a "Gratitude Jar". It’s simple but can have a profound impact on your well-being and your outlook on life. Everyday, sometimes several times a day, write down what you’re grateful for and add these “Gratitude Notes” to your jar.

When you have a down day (we all have them!), a quick glance at your Gratitude Jar can help keep you centered and remind you that your life is full of wonderful things to be grateful for.

But having gratitude doesn’t just happen. It’s a practice we have to be mindful of every day. You wouldn’t expect your body to get healthier without nourishing it. So you can’t expect to feel like you have enough and you are enough, without nurturing a gratitude for life and an appreciation of yourself.

Something else that can help is to use herbs and supplements that improve mental clarity, support a positive mood, and aid in mindfulness. Some of our products that we recommend for this purpose are our new Bliss Out™ mood enhancing herbal capsules as well as two of the main herbal ingredients in Bliss Out™, Ashwagandha, a non drowsy adaptogen for relaxation, and Blue Lotus, a mood enhancing flower extract.