What did you express your thanks for yesterday? I did it for my loved ones, for my furry and feathered friends, for meteor showers, for dark, starry skies, and for the spectacular and joyously moving colors in a sunrise, and for the smell of roses, and gardenias, and wisteria, and for the fact that I am consciously aware of the oneness and of love.

And for meeting the love of my life when I was just 18. He gave me the other two loves of my life, our daughter and her daughter. So I’ve had them with me for quite awhile. I’ll turn 62 tomorrow. Where did all that time go?

I have been blessed in this life to always know that I was loved. First with my birth family, that included my mom, dad, and two sisters, and then with my husband and child. And I love them right back. I guess that helps a person to realize that he or she is love.

I love to think about my blessings. That fills me up with so much love I could almost burst in a million radiantly, colorful, glowing pieces.

I am thankful for my many books as well. When I am stressed and can’t seem to shake it, I sometimes pick up one of them, open a page, and read what my message from God or the Universe is. That often calms and helps me.

Over the holiday I picked up “Thank & Grow Rich” by Pam Grout. The book purports to be “A 30-Day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy,” and I found comfort there.

Do you have trouble not worrying? I do, even though I know with certainty that it will only do me harm. But I keep trying. If you have the same problem, I believe you should persevere, too. Practice makes perfect.

Grout makes it somewhat easy, as teachers of the spirit often do, by keeping it simple. In one of her exercises she says we all should start our mornings “admitting” that something amazingly awesome is going to happen to us today. Then pay attention and look for it.

The second part of that exercise is come to believe in miracles by pretending to be a private investigator “assigned with the task of finding all the beauty and largess in the world.”

I like to add love to beauty and largess.

Positivity and beauty and love are great ways to start the day.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, too.

Marcelle Hanemann is a news reporter for The Daily News. You can email her at marcelle.hanemann@bogalusadailynews.com or call her at 985-732-2565, ext. 301.