I have spent the last week researching gratitude...in the spirit of Thanksgiving this month's news and information on Heal With Hope is about living in gratitude. I've always known that being grateful is important to having a happy life, but I learned some interesting things, too. Research indicates that being a grateful, appreciative person is acutally good for our overall health! So not only does being thankful draw more positive energy into your life, but it appears that it also is good for the heart and immune system. Evidently all those good thoughts release chemicals that strengthen our mind, and our bodies as well. And don't you think that gratitude can be contagious...have you ever noticed that when you are with a person who is focused on the blessing in their life that it is easier for you to find things to give thanks for in your life? How great it would be to start an epidemic of appreciation and thankfulness - just imagine how healthy and happy all of us would be!!

In my own life I have always been so very grateful for having had a wonderful father. He is no longer with us, but I always carry all of the life lessons and wisdom he shared with me. One of my favorite memories:

Every time I would start feeling sorry for myself, Dad would remind me, "One day a man sits down at a bar and starts complaining to the man next to him about the hole in his shoe...when he looks down he realizes that the man sitting next to him has no leg!" He would then proceed to remind me that no matter how bad things might seem, there is always someone who has it worse - so stop feeling sorry for yourself!

And so as I focus on counting the blessing in my life, I give thanks for having had such a wise, wonderful and loving dad!! ~ Andrea