When we think about our blessings, we realize that we have so many of them that it would take at least a better part of an hour to write them all down in a summarized way. To save time, instead of writing the name of each person in your family, you would write only: my family.

Now, everyone has hundreds of blessings, no matter how poor or destitute this person may be. No one, not a single person, who can find a blessing, would be so discouraged as to end his or her life. Our blessings are what keep us going and trusting the process of living.

Finding our blessings is only the first step in the process of pursuing happiness. The next step is to thank these blessings for being part of our lives and for impacting us the way they do. This is what I call the Gratitude Game.

Being grateful for what we have; what we see, feel, sense taste and experience; what we are, what we possess (different from what we have: we may have a grand time and yet, we dont possess it); what we do; what we give and what we receive, is what will put us in such great vibrational level, that there is no way positive things cant manifest in our lives.

So how do we do this? The first thing is to be aware that the more we appreciate, the more the good things will come to us. Appreciation is the key to achieve happiness and bliss. The universe is comprised of energy, as Dr. Einstein has so eloquently told us. Well, this energy is responsible for what happens to us.

Remember the ripple effect? I am sure you were told when you were young, that, whatever we give, we receive 7 times more. Now, who came up with this story I dont know. What I know is that I was told many times that you send the ripple out and it will get back to you (this part, of the story I never understood too well because I only see the ripples going one direction!).

In any case, here is the theory: whatever you send will come back to you. Like a boomerang. No questions about this one. This is also called the Law of Cause and Effect, which we have learned in our Physics classes. Other people will call it The Law of Attraction.

So when you send good vibes, there is nothing you can do to prevent them from getting back to you. Nothing. Same with bad vibes, so be aware! Problem is, though, that more often than not, we are sending negative vibrations and we dont really know how to transform them into positive ones. Enter the Gratitude Game.

Begin by appreciating all your blessings. This is easy, for we (as I said earlier) have tons of them. Then, move on to appreciating things that are happening to you now, this very moment. Observing your surroundings is a great first step.

For example:

1. As we approach winter, the weather is getting really cold. If you are indoors, you will feel warm. It is nice to feel warm on a cold day. Appreciate it.

2. You are walking in your neighborhood and you see cute little dandelions. They are pretty, all yellow, on a grassy background. Appreciate it.

3. You are driving in the evening and suddenly you see the most radiant, humongous, orange moon just rising for you. Appreciate it.

4. You are home resting and see your kitties playing with each other. They are having a grand time and so are you. Appreciate it.

5. You wake up during the night and go to your childrens room. They are all safe and they look so peaceful in their slumber. Appreciate it.

6. You are walking and you find a penny. Oh, yeah! Money! Appreciate it.

7. You hear the sound of rain falling on the roof. It is a great sound. Appreciate it.

8. You go take a shower and the minute the water falls on you, it feels so good Appreciate it.

9. You look at your familys photo sitting on your desk. They are smiling and you feel a surge of love for them. Appreciate it.

10. You check you persimmon and realize it is absolutely ripe and bursting with life, ready to be savored. Appreciate it.

Now, you got the picture. It is easier to appreciate our surroundings for they usually give us a good feeling about them.

How do you show your appreciation? I like to say: Thank you, God. That is all. If you, however, feel more comfortable just saying Thank you, by all means, do so.

Or perhaps you can just say I do appreciate this, or I am grateful for this. It is also all right. Whichever way you want to express your appreciation, use it. No one is keeping score. If you can add a feeling to this appreciation, as in why you are so grateful about a certain thing, so much the better.

The important thing is to keep appreciating and when you least expect it, your negative moments will disappear and suddenly, you realize you are truly happy.