With the holiday season now in full swing, the concept of gratitude comes front and center. Dina Lynch Eisenberg of www.thismarriagething.com started us off by encouraging us to say "thank you" three times a day to our significant other. It's funny how being attentive to something nice that a spouse does actually opens you up to noticing other's around you too. And expressing your appreciation to a partner sets the tone for expressing gratitude to the world around you.

With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, begin to note what you are thankful for and let that gratitude well up and spill over to your family, friends, community, country and the world at large. Then express your gratitude - by saying thanks, by doing something nice in return, by practicing a random act of kindness, by volunteering to help those who are needy, by acting as a citizen of the world. The opportunities are endless.

So, I'll begin by thanking you for being a part of our readership - it means a lot to us knowing that you are there!

Now pass it forward...

Yesterday we introduced you to The Gratitude Project, a timely idea created by Dina Lynch Eisenberg, who blogs at www.thismarriagething.com. Join her in conscious appreciation of those who bring joy and meaning into your life. Here are some additional tips she passes along to help you participate in spreading gratitude around and enjoying the feelings it creates.

Say a sincere thank you to your spouse, partner or someone significant in your life three times per day for the next 10 days. Your goal is to catch him or her doing something helpful, wonderful, kind and say thanks right then. Observe how doing this changes your feelings about yourself and your spouse. Be alert for how this impacts your relationship and let us know.

Keep track of any extra hugs, kisses or affectionate pats. How great would it be if the Gratitude Project resulted in a wave of love? Don’t forget to include that in your comments.

Share your experiences and thoughts about the Project here on our blog. We will do a roundup of responses on or around November 18th and pass them on to Dina. We expect we'll learn a lot from each other about this experience.

Tell other people and ask them to join the Gratitude Project. Forward this post to friends and family as well as to your social network. The more people, the more love- and we all know what a force for good love can be, right?

Why not take the experiment even further? Try thanking random strangers! Increasing our sense of connection and kindness to each other is part of how we’ll survive through the current crises.

Be sure to visit www.thismarriagething.com to hear more about the Gratitude Project and how it is affecting the participants.