Just recently I had "one of those days". You know the ones I mean - where everything just goes wrong, you're treated unfairly, the car breaks down AND you get a parking ticket, and on and on - and the world feels like a bleak place to be indeed.

That evening I sat back in my favourite "Alice in Wonderland" red armchair, and tried to figure out what the lesson had been. What was the universe trying to tell me, to show me?

And then I remembered a daily habit I used to practice a while back. At that time, I had a notebook sitting by my bed, and I would take a few extra minutes before I turned off the lights each night to write down 10 things that I was grateful for that day.

On an energetic level, gratitude has one of the highest vibrational levels of any emotion - and has the power to heal, to transform, to literally transmute our current experience into something magical, joyful, and fulfilling. Gratitude is the lubricant for the process of living our dreams.

So I decided to start that practice up once again. Since then, I've been looking forward to the time each evening when I get to actively focus on what's going right in my world.

My gratitude lists have been personal, inspiring, and enlightening. They have, in both subtle and direct ways, helped shape my days, and bring greater and more positive awareness to my daily experiences.

I've found that there are many categories of things to be grateful for. I write about my family and their unconditional support; my health and the amazing functioning of my body; and my spacious and comfortable home. About the beauty of the city in bloom, about the people in my life and the joy and learning they bring, and about some of my possessions which bring me comfort and pleasure.

I write about my gratitude for my emotions, which help me grow and relate in the world; my uncertainty and doubt which teach me resilience and in-the-now-ness; the food which nourishes me; and the food which simply tastes good. I write about my gratitude for the people who support my experience from behind the scenes - like my mailman, the young man who made that delicious sandwich for me at the sandwich shop, the gas station attendant with the infectious smile.

I also write about the things which don't at first appear to be positive, but are lessons and opportunities in disguise for practicing gratitude.

For example, the mess in the house reminds me or how good it feels to have a clean home. It makes me remember how I used to enjoy puttering on Saturday mornings, listening to NPR while straightening my living space. Thank you mess, for reminding me. I think I'll take on that weekly practice again.

The rattle in my car reminds me of what a great service my Honda provides to me, and that I can enjoy caring for her as I would for a faithful old friend. And the ache in my knee reminds me to take better care of myself, and of the true miracle that my body is to me.

Gratitude is often a practiced emotion. It is an attitude we can train ourselves to step into more often.

It is not about putting on a false Pollyanna attitude, but rather about cultivating a deep-rooted peacefulness and acceptance of what is. And this effort is more than worth your while - the more you can cultivate gratitude in your life, the more good things you'll automatically attract to yourself.

Try it, you'll see. And, to help you in creating a gratitude habit, I'd like to offer you a challenge:

Plant the seeds: win a month of coaching!

For the next three weeks, each day write down ten things for which you are grateful. It's ok if some items repeat from day to day. To do this exercise fully, just be sure to truly FEEL the gratitude as you write.

At the end of the three weeks, take a few minutes, look over your list, and answer the following questions:

1. What are the threads or themes I see in my gratitude lists?
   
2. What have I gained or learned by taking on this daily gratitude practice?
   
3. Has anything changed or shifted in my daily life, in how I related to the world around me?