“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

What exactly is an attitude of gratitude? To me, it is focusing on what I have instead of what I don’t; it is counting my blessings and focusing on the positive things in my life instead of the negative things.

The famous country singer, Garth Brooks said, “Happiness is not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.” A profound statement that I certainly believe to be true. If getting what we want was the key to happiness, happiness would never last.  Once we have obtained that which we sought we would certainly find something new to set our sights on, something else to ‘want’. However, if we are able to not only be content with what we have but grateful that is when happiness is able to take up permanent residency in our hearts. A thankful heart is a happy heart. When you adopt an attitude of gratitude, you will undoubtedly find more and more things to be grateful for. You will find yourself going from complaining about having to get up in the morning to being grateful that you are able to get up. Instead of being annoyed that you have to feed the dog, being grateful you have a dog to feed. “The wonderful thing about gratitude is that it has the capacity to keep growing. Gratitude is infinite. Every time we are grateful about something it is like tossing a pebble of positivity into our lives. Just like pebbles tossed into water cause a ripple effect, so also will these pebbles of positivity (gratitude) cause a ripple of goodness to flow through our lives. I have yet to meet a truly grateful person who isn’t happy. Gratitude and happiness go hand in hand. Grateful people also have the ability to see the good in others and to appreciate the beauty all around them. As Mary Davis so aptly put it, “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” Grateful people have a pleasant, positive demeanour which makes them pleasant to be around and unavoidably likeable. Everyone has the capability to live a life of gratitude.  Adopting the practice of gratitude means making the choice to adopt an attitude of gratitude. Leading a grateful life won’t always be easy but it will always be worth it. Sowing gratitude into the lives of others has a far reaching affect.  Seeds of gratitude are just like the magic seeds in fairy tales, in that they have infinite possibilities.

I wrote the ‘Elroy the eel’ book to show children the importance and the benefits of being thankful. Through this enjoyable story, Elroy the eel teaches children that it is good to be thankful and highlights how being thankful can make you feel happy. The delightful character of Elroy the eel, along with the spectacular, full-colour illustrations by Matthew Ziranek bring both the undersea world and the story to life. An encouraging story that will benefit children of all ages.

Order your copy of Elroy the eel today. Available from Amazon and various other leading online retailers. I hope this book will inspire little ones to live thankful, happy lives. Enjoy the story!

Reviews are most welcome and please feel free to share if and how this story impacted a little life.