The very word "thanksgiving" reminds us to be thankful for the good things in our lives. Yet, it is often the tragedies we experience that really make us appreciate what we have. Once we've lost something important, we see how valuable it was.

Most days, I let one thing or another distract me from the bountiful reasons I have to be thankful. But I do, on occasion, reflect deeply on the tensions between striving and cherishing. And when those reflections take me over, they often engender a poem.

We should start referring friends to good therapists, unashamedly, the way we would refer them to a good dentist. For now, I thank my own, and hope that others find their own path to wellness, no matter what anyone else says.

Thankfully, gratitude and appreciation can create their own positive psychophysiological holiday in your body -- without the necessity of a feast. If you find yourself facing Thanksgiving stress this week, remember to bring appreciation into your thoughts and heart.

It's time to change our relationship with the holidays. We don't have to break up with them, but just know that as with all things anxiety, the holidays aren't the problem -- it's the story in our head about the holidays that needs to change.

We invite you to develop an ongoing relationship with gratitude by making a list of things to "remember to appreciate." You can do this hourly, daily, weekly, finding different things to appreciate each time.

This November I am thankful for unexpected inconveniences. They force me out of my comfort zone and provide opportunities to examine things from different angles.

Between my scientist and my cousin Donald I realized what "giving thanks" really means. It means looking in someone's eyes until you can see their vibrant colors beneath the chlorophyll, beneath the mask or the bravado or the prickly personality.

Practicing gratitude means appreciating aspects of your life and not taking anything for granted. It may offer health benefits as well.

This Thanksgiving, I am viewing things in a new way. I have a renewed appreciation and a sense of not taking things for granted.

Gratitude may be an emotion, but I've always thought of it as an action. Acting grateful is taking the time to let someone know that they've made a difference in our lives.

Things are hard all over these days, and the holiday season can magnify our difficulties. Traditionally this was our harvest time, a time to sit down with the community and feast on what we had collectively grown.

Happy Thanksgiving, Spirit Junkies! In today's vlog I throw down the "Three Gs" -- Gratitude, Giving and Gorging!

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, many of us start turning our attention to what we have to be thankful for. And, like many of us, once the holiday passes, thankfulness returns to the back of our minds.

This season provides opportunity to say a prayer of gratitude for all the good in our lives. The conscious intention in prayer can send ripples of energy touching each person we include in our prayers.

I'm suggesting that instead of beating yourself up for "failing" again to stick to your diet or plan, you rejoice that you overdid it. You see, the key to eating success lies in our so-called "failures."