Are you looking?  Are you looking for the gifts?  You know, the ones you really didn’t expect, but . . .

A strange virus, loss of a job, stuck at home for months due to government orders and curfews.  These do not sound like gifts to me!  There is, however, a way to find the unexpected gifts during what we consider to be difficult times.

We may not like our circumstances, but we can still be grateful during them.  We may not be grateful for what is currently happening, but we can find something to be thankful for.  For instance, having a roof over your head, food to eat, health and people who love you.  You may not have the income you had six months ago, but you have enough.

Keeping your mind focused on the good things you have, rather than what you don’t have, is a gift in itself.  Feeling gratitude causes you to feel more gratitude.  When you see things to be grateful for, your brain looks for more things to be grateful for.

Research shows that gratitude results in more relationships, better health, improved sleep, self-esteem and mental strength.  There are the gifts!

Be grateful, be aware of your blessings, and find your unexpected gifts.  That is when you can  live . . . your life to the fullest.