Showing gratitude is a great way to close out this year’s challenge. It’s a walk in the park. The ways in which we might demonstrate gratitude are infinite. It’s the main ingredient necessary to improve our well-being. And gratitude works both ways – when we feel it, we benefit from how positive we feel and when we express it to others we strengthen our relationships with them. 
Perhaps there’s a new neighbor up the road that you want to welcome by sharing some of your best zucchini bread or a neighbor who needs some help building a fence or a neighbor who would relish your feeding her pets while she is out of town. Maybe it’s writing a note of thanks to someone who has visited you recently or provided you with the support you needed during a difficult life transition. Maybe showing gratitude consists of donating funds to a specific non- profit organization that you value and want to support. Maybe it’s turning to your partner or best friend and telling him or her how much you appreciate them.
When I was in grade school, one of my favorite ways to show gratitude to my neighbors was to make up small baskets of wildflowers on April 30th and then in the early am on May 1st I would scurry about hanging the baskets on front doors, ringing doorbells and running away. I am not sure if anyone ever knew where their flowers came from but for me that was an afterthought.
According to Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, professor of the Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania, showing gratitude will raise one’s happiness and lower depression. In his book, Flourish, he suggests the gratitude visit as a powerful way to become more positive. In summary, the gratitude visit consists of calling up the face of someone who is alive and years ago did something or said something that changed your life for the better who you never properly thanked, writing a letter to this individual describing what he or she did for you and how it impacted your life and then contacting the person to set up a time to visit without divulging why. 
Upon meeting with the person, Seligman recommends reading the letter without interruption while noting the person’s reaction and when finished to take the time to discuss the content and feelings with each other.
As I reflect upon the past few months, I remember how the summer began in the Champlain Islands. The Dannemora prisoners were on the loose and an inordinate number of individuals spent days in horrid conditions across the lake tracking them while trying to protect Adirondack community members from danger. I followed the multiple news bulletins obsessively until the incident ended. What touched my heart, however, were the expressions of gratitude demonstrated by the community members to law enforcement personnel; first by providing food and drink on multiple days and then by honoring and thanking all involved. This demonstration of gratitude was powerful and will long be remembered.
May you all be well. We look forward to your snapshots of showing gratitude,
Shevonne, Gillian and Amy