“For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” – Vincent Van Gogh

It’s true, there is much we can discern with certainty nowadays, but there is also so much we don’t know, like what gives life meaning and where heaven is in all the universe.

The sight of the stars makes Van Gogh dream, and these questions of meaning and heaven make me dream!

I believe that what makes us even want to dream in the first place is a beautiful yet simple practice called Gratitude.

Gratitude results in the posture: never regret a single day in your life.

There are good days, bad days, best days, and worst days. The good days give happiness. The bad days give experience. The worst days give lessons. The best days give memories.

The good days are most days. When we look at gratitude as medicine and take it every day, we find that it really does make us healthier, inside and out.

If you’re the product of your environment, then change your environment.

If you’re the sum total of your thoughts, then change your thoughts.

If you’re the influence of the 10 people you most surround yourself with, then change who you surround yourself with.

We tend to think we are having a bad day because of factors we can control but just don’t choose to. The bad days are those rare days that something really bad happens and are deserving of feeling like crap about it.

The bad days are rare only when we remember that most days are actually amazing and showered in blessings. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat are all blessings, and they are provided every day to 90% of us.

It is even okay to have a bad day every now and then, to feel that pain, loss, hurt, disappointment, or struggle, and to know the next day will get better.

The best days are those days when you’re on top of the world and nothing can go wrong. Something amazing could have happened, you fell in love, you won the lottery, or you had a baby.

These are the days we all look forward to, revel in, and remember forever. It is good to soak them up, enjoy them when they come, but also know that they too will pass, just like the bad days.

The worst days are those that bring us to our knees, reminding us that we are really such fragile beings. They are the days of great loss, tragedy, and shock. When we lose a job, lose a friend or family member, and lose ourselves.

The worst days, however, teach the best lessons. Despite the difficulty or tragedy, the ability to get through the worst days always makes us stronger.

Through all of these types of days, there is also the ever-present lesson of impermanence, that everything is in a constant state of change, and for every low, there is a high.

This doesn’t make the highs better and the lows worse; this means we can let go of any effect they have on us when we step back.

Mindfulness makes us aware of impermanence, naturally bringing us to a place of peace in all the change.

Gratitude makes us thankful for impermanence, reminding us that there is so much to be thankful for even amongst the change.

Here are a few questions that can help you find more gratitude in your life!

When in your life were you super grateful for something or someone?

What are 10 things you are grateful for today?

Why are you grateful for those things?

How can you find a little more gratitude in your day today?