David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk for many decades, gave a Ted Talk about gratitude and here’s what he said: “It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy.” So often we think, “if only this problem would go away, or if only this thing would happen the way I want it to happen, then I would be happy and then I would we grateful. I will be grateful when I have something to be grateful about.” But that’s not how it works. Don’t we all know people who have more stuff and fewer problems, but are less happy and grateful? And don’t we all know people who have more problems, less stuff, yet are happier and more grateful? Researcher Brene Brown found the same thing. She conducted interviews for 12 years, collected 11,000 pieces of data on what makes some people whole-hearted, resilient and happy. In all that time she did not meet a single person who would describe themselves as joyful or their life as joy-filled who did not actively practice gratitude. Take time to practice gratitude and begin to see how God works in that to make you happier.