^{by Sharon Quercioli}

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. There are many reasons to love this season: the leaves turning, beautiful pumpkins and mums, cool weather, Halloween costumes, the cozy feel of the fire, a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate. But my favorite reason by far is that around Thanksgiving time everyone starts to think about gratitude. There is always something to be grateful for. Here are just a few things that top that list.

Having a roof over your head

This year has been difficult for all of us. I have been lucky enough to have a roof over my head, which signifies a lot of things: safety, comfort, warmth and a feeling of security. 

Clean water
Clean water is one of those things we take for granted. There are plenty of countries without clean water or people who must work hard to get their water clean enough to drink. But here in America, not only can we find clean water in our bathrooms and our kitchens, we can get it for free in water fountains as well. 

Simple pleasures
Hobbies, the love from our pets, finding a new bud on a plant, redecorating a room to liven it up. There are plenty of simple pleasures we can find at home right now. Even sitting here at my desk, I am happy for the fall weather, this warm pumpkin patch candle, and the bright happy pop of green from my potted plants. These are all things that I am grateful for every day. What sorts of simple pleasures are you grateful for? 

Internet access

If you are reading this, that means that you are able to access the Internet, which is a haven for information and a wonderful way to connect with loved ones. As with most things, you can find happiness in a lot of things, depending upon how you look at it and how you use it. 

The Internet is a great way for you to access information on nearly anything… right at your fingertips. Do you want to know how to grow a pumpkin from a seed or how to carve a pumpkin? Do you want to brush up on some academics? Do you want to be entertained for an hour? Do you want to have a video conference with your friends who live in another city? By the way, every other week several of my friends and I have a Zoom call so we can see each other and share what is going on in our lives. We all look forward to it. All these things are available to us because of the Internet.

Friends and family

Speaking of friends and family, these two things are the cornerstone of our compassion, who we are and what motivate us. Whether we are talking about our friends, our immediate families, our spouses or colleagues, these people have a large impact upon our lives, and we should be thankful for them. 

Gratitude Journals
Starting each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for is one way to put your mind on the right track. Also, remember that your future depends largely on the thoughts you think today. So, each moment of every day is an opportunity to turn your thinking around, thereby helping or hindering your ability to think and feel more positively in the very next moment.

I try to start off each day by jotting something down in a gratitude journal. It is a notebook I keep on my desk in my home office. The things I write down are never very long, but they are meaningful to me. I give myself three rules for this journal:

• Write something down every day.
• Do not write the same thing twice.
• It can be big or small but it has to be specific.

Most experts agree that there are no shortcuts to happiness. Even generally happy people do not experience joy 24 hours a day. But a happy person can have a bad day and still find pleasure in the small things in life.

Be thankful for what you have. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, remember the 1,000 reasons you must smile. Remember to say “thank you”— to yourself, the Universe, and others. Besides keeping a daily gratitude journal, other ways to cultivate a sense of gratitude include:

Write thank you notes
Whether in response to a gift or kind act, or simply as a show of gratitude for someone being in your life. Writing thank you cards are a great way to show gratitude and show how much you appreciate your loved ones.

Pray
Expressing thanks during your prayers is another way to cultivate gratitude. Being in touch with your spiritual side and connecting on a spiritual level is a great way to show gratitude.

Mindfulness Mediation
Practicing “mindfulness” means that you are actively paying attention to the moment you’re in right now. This is a great way to show gratitude for the little things in life, especially the small things we take for granted: the color of the leaves, the scent of freshly baked bread, the warmth of a loved one, the taste of coffee, etc. 

Recipes
You didn’t think I’d let you get away without sharing a few of my favorite Thanksgiving and pumpkin recipes, did you? 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins 
This is my go-to Thanksgiving morning recipe. It’s healthy and hearty enough to keep me full until Thanksgiving dinner, without stuffing me full of food.

What you’re going to need:

• third of a cup of coconut oil (melted, in oil form)

• half a cup of honey

• couple eggs

• cup of mashed banana (about two or three)

• cup of puree pumpkin

• quarter of a cup of milk

• couple teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

• teaspoon of vanilla

• teaspoon of baking soda

• half of a teaspoon of salt

• cup and three fourths of flour

• half of a cup of dark chocolate chips

What you’re going to do with those things

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• Grease a muffin pan with spray or use liners.

• Mix oil and honey in a large bowl. Wisk in eggs.

• Mix in the mashed banana with a spoon. Also add and mix pumpkin, milk, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, baking soda and salt. 

• Slowly add and mix (only until combined) the flour. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

• Put into muffin pan and bake for five minutes. Reduce the over to 350 and back for about 15 minutes. 

• Pull out muffins and let them cool. 

Oven Baked Corn on the Cob

One of my favorite things about fall is corn! Not only do I love going to corn mazes, I also love eating corn. It’s healthy, and you can eat it in savory or sweet dishes. Today I’m going to share with you my favorite way to prepare corn on the cob.

What you’re going to need:

• quarter of a cup of butter or your favorite healthy oil equivalent

• tablespoon of fresh parsley

• couple garlic cloves (minced)

• teaspoon of rosemary

• teaspoon of thyme

• half a teaspoon of salt

• half a teaspoon of pepper

• four ears of corn (husked and cleaned)

What you’re going to do with those things

• Preheat the oven to 425. 

• Stir the oil or butter and all of the spices. 

• Spread the mixture on each corn cob. 

• Wrap each of the cobs in foil. 

• Place on baking sheet, and bake until they are soft (about 20 minutes). 

• Make sure to turn them about ten minutes in. 

• Carefully take the foil off and serve.