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Since OJ Simpson's release on parole, he's been quite vocal about his relief and gratitude at having his sentence cut short. Yet there's no way of knowing whether and how this gratitude might manifest itself in the future. Given the mixed public response he's now in protected custody and I wonder if the gratitude will last. Feeling grateful comes a lot more easily when things are going well, but gratitude also has a role to play when life deals us a harsher hand. The Hindu Scriptures encourage us to develop a constant attitude of gratitude as a way to accelerate our spiritual development and maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle free from extreme responses. Even something as simple as suffering the consequences of our actions is ultimately in our best interests as it allows us to be more selfless and see that in any given situation we are not the only ones affected. I find that when we have this mindset, we can try to use every circumstance in our life for growth. We can look closer at each new situation in order to discover the lesson we can learn. We can find new ways to serve or learn more about other people, the environment and ourselves. When life becomes challenging it can be difficult to be grateful as worry or resentment can block our ability to take a step back and examine the bigger picture. Another obstacle could be a strong sense of entitlement, an increasing tendency as we become more results orientated and create technologies that lead us to demand the instant gratification of our superficial needs. In my work as a Psychiatrist, helping patients to feel more gratitude in their lives enables them to come to terms with many of the people and situations that have hurt them in the past. This in turn improves their psychological and physical health as a positive outlook boosts our feel good hormones as well as our immune system. But gratitude isn't just a feeling, mindset or the expression of thankful words, it is also about grateful behaviour. When we say thank you and feel thankful, it forces us to really connect with the present moment and make positive decisions. As we make wiser choices, this improves the quality of our life and naturally we then have even more to be grateful for. Good times are always followed by less desirable times, that is the way life goes, regardless of what we believe. Much like OJ Simpson will need to do, we all could benefit from the regular practice of immersing ourselves in gratitude.