Have you noticed how many people are talking about gratitude? There are books claiming that being grateful is the key to happiness and will even cure depression and keep you from sickness. It seems too simple to be true. So, I took some time to evaluate myself to see if I was truly living with a grateful heart. My answer was probably like most people—usually. The quick answer didn’t sit right with me, so I dug deeper and eventually changed my answer to a more honest one: not enough. Something had to change if I wanted to be happier and healthier.

I took a common recommendation and started a gratitude journal. Every morning I write one thing I am grateful for and sometimes during the day when something happens, I will rush to my journal and add another line. Some days I write something simple, like I’m grateful I can drive to the store and get the food I need (as I get older, that may not always be possible). Other days, I get more spiritual and thank God for loving me just as I am (usually when I’m not feeling too good about myself). I even get philosophical questioning the reason something lands on my gratitude list (can a person really be grateful they get to clean the house today?).

What I have found is that it is challenging in the world we live in to be grateful all the time. I believe I have a grateful heart, but sometimes my eyes focus on things that take me down a different path. It is hard to stay grateful in a world with wars, poverty, and hate. In the United States, the political climate is so toxic that some days it’s difficult to see positives in anything.

So, how do we keep a grateful heart when we are bombarded on all sides with darkness? I wish I had a simple answer, but I don’t. For me, I try to find something positive in every situation no matter how hard, and I keep expressing gratitude for even the smallest of things. Like, despite the cold, I have new blooms on my rose bush today!

Start a gratitude journal or attach a note to your refrigerator every morning! If we all look for good and keep a grateful heart, darkness cannot block our light.

Choose to be a light!