This time of year it seems like there are a million Facebook posts and TV commercials reminding us that we need to be grateful. I can’t keep up. I wanted to post every day about all the things I am thankful for but it’s just not working out. Probably because it is also the time of year that we are running around like a crazy people trying to figure out how we are going to get “all the things” done. I don’t know about you, but I rarely have time to sit and contemplate how grateful I am. I think about being so thankful for my four grand-babies, but in the same moment I am trying to figure out how I am going to find the time to get their Christmas presents, wrap them… and wait…. what am I going to get them anyway?? Taking time to intentionally focus on Gratitude is a challenge.

Did you know that Gratitude and Thankfulness are not the same thing? Thankfulness is a feeling. We feel thankful. Gratitude is the movement of thankfulness into action. It is a noun. The expression of your emotions and thoughts of gratefulness.

What motivates you to express gratitude? Maybe you are motivated by obligation and are a person who has to send out thank you notes for every. little. thing. Or maybe you are motivated by your faith. You give thanks before every meal, and try to live by the multitude of Bible passages that talk about gratitude like “Give thanks in all circumstances” and “Give thanks with a grateful heart”.

Or maybe you have figured out that relationships just go better when you express gratitude. Gratitude can not help but change our relationships. It is the act of taking your eyes off of yourself, focusing on someone else, and noticing what they are doing that is changing your life for good. This act changes people. It changes relationships. It changes us.

It turns out that Gratitude is a big deal. There is a whole research institute who has invested over $3.5 million in the past seven years to research Gratitude and the impact it has on our bodies, brains, and relationships. The research shows that people who practice the intentional act of gratitude have decreased depression, anxiety, and even heart failure. Gratitude has also been found to strengthens the immune system, and can lower blood pressure. Isn’t that cool???!!

Did you know that we experience depression and gratitude in the same place in our brain? Did you know that we can not experience them at the same time? This is life changing!! You can’t be depressed AND grateful at the same time…. ok… I am going to say that again. YOU CAN NOT BE DEPRESSED AND GRATEFUL AT THE SAME TIME! You Can’t. That doesn’t mean that you won’t be depressed after you stop focusing on gratitude. But you simply can not experience both of those feelings at the same time. I love this.

All of this information is great, but most of the time I am still stuck back at the “I have to do all the things” place during this time of year. I need some help. I need to intentionally move my thoughts toward gratitude.

Gratitude was really hard for me this past year. It is not just the business of life, but sometimes the hard things in live distract us from focusing on gratitude. For me, this is where essential oils entered in to my life. I am so thankful for Young Living Essential Oils. I am honestly grateful. So much of my healing over the past year has been because of oils (more on that another day). One oil that has made a big difference for me is Gratitude.

Gratitude is an Essential Oil blend that was created to help release patterns and feelings of negativity. This blend works in our brain to help us focus on the good, even in our bad circumstances. When we can find and express gratitude for even difficult circumstances we are no longer held down by them. Instead, we are propelled by the lessons we have learned and the growth that has happened because of them.

Here is what is in Gratitude: Balsam, Frankincense, Coriander, Myrrh, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot, Northern Lights Black Spruce, Vetiver, and Geranium

Here’s how to use it:

-Diffuse, apply over your heart, or on your wrist as perfume.

I am grateful for you! Grateful you took time to read this. Grateful that I have a place to share. Grateful for so much.

Check out more information about Young Living Oils. You will be so grateful you did!