Turkey, cranberry relish, stuffing and a pen. Just a few necessities that should grace your Thanksgiving table.
If one of these things doesn't seem quite like the others, perhaps you need to spend a little time contemplating a gratitude practice. Guests of your dinner, you see, should use the pen to write down a few things for which they feel grateful (oh, a piece of paper might come in handy, too). Just this small stunt -- the physical action of jotting down a couple of things you're happy to have in your life -- has been shown to reinforce happy thoughts. Our brains have a tendency to focus on the negative, so this action helps to stop our thoughts from going down a dark path and bring them back on a happy trail.
The whole essence of this November holiday is gratitude (OK, and wildly phenomenal food), so why not make the most of gratitude for all its many benefits?