This year, influenza seemed to hit many people hard.

I was ill for three weeks – almost four.

This isn't an excuse for not having sent a letter in so long, but it is why it took even longer.

I was so ill that, in my pain, I genuinely thought: "Who would ever bear children into this world, knowing they'd suffer like this? Who? Why? What for?" – "Why, Mum?". Yeah, it was that bad.

That line of thinking is probably rooted in the deeper ideas I have absorbed of the philosopher David Benatar, who argues against bringing life into existence due to the inevitability of suffering and the asymmetry between bad and good experiences in life.

Some consider this a pessimistic perspective, but I think it’s accurate: they will get ill, and they will suffer – not just illness, but the full spectrum of human pain.

We all suffer.

But we recover.

And then we forget.

We return to our lives, taking our health and well-being for granted;

Eating what doesn’t nourish the body.

Doing what doesn’t bring peace.

Entertaining thoughts that unsettle the mind.

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I promised myself to change things in my life to stay healthy and to stay grateful for being healthy when I'm healthy.

Gratefulness is the mother of all virtues.

And many wise elders, including the 98-year-old monk and Zen master David Steindl-Rast, believe that gratefulness is the key to happiness.

Humans have a way of getting used to everything – it's in our nature. No matter what you have, or what you’re chasing – eventually, it becomes normal. The excitement fades.

That's why gratefulness matters. If you're grateful for what you have now, you can shift to happiness right now. And this is so powerful. Almost magical.

Basically, you can be happy NOW.

Gratitude grounds you in the present and happiness in its purest form is now-based.

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When it comes to health, truly feeling your healthy body and being grateful for your health makes you happier on a daily basis.

While it might not be obvious at first, it will become clearer when we practise it.

Take time to appreciate all parts of your body – not for what they look like, but for what they do for you. They do all sorts of amazing things for you.

For instance, when I broke my toe last year, I was so grateful for the muscles I had built over the years with discipline and training. It wasn't about their looks, but about their function – how my body was capable of carrying myself with only half of the legs available! Amazing!

Moreover, muscles also support you in:

• storing nutrients
• moving and balancing
• regulating blood sugar levels
• maintaining your body temperature.

And, it's actually your muscles doing the work when you smile! :)

Once you're aware of how fascinating the human body is, how incredible it feels to be healthy and to do anything you want to do, this awareness will make you work harder towards keeping our health.

Gratitude for people works similarly: being appreciative for a wonderful person in your life, like your best friend, and bringing this appreciation into your awareness, will encourage us to work harder at keeping that relationship strong and thriving. In return, this deepening of relationships increases our happiness, because as social beings, we thrive when feeling loved, appreciated, and cared for.

Gratitude deepens connection.

Every year on my birthday, I realise it anew. It's not the messages I receive that make me happy, but rather the act of replying to each one. Saying "thank you so much, I appreciate it," "I love you," "I miss you," "I'm thinking of you," is what truly fills me with love.

You can start practising it right now.

Think about all the amazing things each part of your body does for you.

Like breathing. Pretty cool isn't it – without it, well, we'd come to an end! So, isn't it great that your brain is working perfectly, sending those signals to your nose and lungs to keep the breathing process going? I, for one, am certainly glad your body seems to be working so well!

And now, take a moment to list all the things that you do have, and all the people who love and care about you. Really take your time now to appreciate these things and these people.

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How does it make you feel? Fulfilled and loved? As if you have everything in abundance? Because you do.

If you don't quite feel grateful, you can try and substitute "grateful" with "I love" or "I'm happy about".

At the beginning, I found "grateful" to be too big of a word. It didn't quite resonate with me and added unwanted pressure to an act that is supposed to make me feel good and at peace.

So I found that, for me, saying "I love X, Y, Z" felt better and, at that time, and more truthful too. It still does sometimes.

For example, I am grateful for my healthy self-talk, and I love the sun and I love nature.

I am happy for my cosy flat, my comfortable bed, my big window so I can look out and see the clouds, having the best food every day, plenty of tea, the people in the supermarket providing me with food, the bus driver taking me to places, the friendly post man delivering more food, my gym, my coach and other people teaching me things, people writing books so I can learn from them, being in a cafe with others, writing this newsletter.

Sometimes I feel grateful, sometimes happy, sometimes I feel love.

Try it out and see what works for you, but altogether, I think we have plenty to be grateful/thankful/lucky/happy about :)

Lots of love,

Linh

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P.s. In my next letter, I'll reflect on how we can stay dedicated and committed to our health – and, as always, I'd love to hear what you think :)

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