I recently came across the following quote from Amy Voskamp that contains some excellent life advice: “No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. But any amount of gratitude changes the present.” What she is saying is that the past is the past and there’s nothing we can do about it except own up to it and learn from it. And anxiety, no matter how intense, does not affect the future. But being thankful for who we are and what we have can have a profound impact on the present. The reason is that it’s impossible to be grateful unless we focus on the positive things in our life like family, friends, pets, and the good things that are happening to us. For example, several years ago, during the holiday season, I found myself in a miserable funk. My wife Marcia said to me, “Why don’t you go to Trader Joe’s and tell the employees who work there how grateful you are for all the joy and happiness they bring to your life?” I did and came home a changed person with tears of joy in my eyes and a smile on my face. Expressing my gratitude had enabled me to create a much better “now” for myself.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward
• “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” — Gertrude Stein

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