Have you ever kept a gratitude or joy journal, where you wrote a few things you were grateful for each day? If you have, you already know the profound difference it can have on your life. Simply by being grateful for everything in your life, you can not only become more grateful and happy in the process, but you will also begin to see even more things to be grateful for manifested in your everyday life.

If you are familiar with the Law of Attraction, you also know that this is simply the result of changing your thougths—switching from resentment and jealously to sheer gratitude and joy will send out the message to the universe that you want things that will make you joyful and greatful!

Case in point: Sara Ban Brethnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. The gratitude journal is the cornerstone of Breathnach’s daybook, and there is even a companion hardcover version with a ribbon bookmark insertion available. Breathnach gives us things to be grateful for in each day’s writing, but she also delivers more than that in her homage to simplicity.

From living in the moment during the season we are in to loving the little things in our lives like a bit of lace on a pantry shelf or a summer cookout, Breathnach points out that all we need to be really happy is within ourselves already. We don’t have to keep looking outward for it. By helping us delve into each little daily joy with a few thoughts based on a theme—accompanied by an inspiring quote—she provides spelunking gear for us to dive into our own selves, find out just how happy we truly are without any weird programs or material possessions, and be grateful for these simple joys.

Every month ends with a couple of pages of “Joyful Simplicities” that correspond to that month—such as homemade lemonade recipes in June or becoming a “romantic” in February by reading Elizabeth Barrett Browning and  hosting a Cupid’s Tea for friends and family to enjoy.

If you do choose to purchase Breathnach’s gratitude journal as an accompaniment, it does contain a preface that includes a list of things to be grateful for in this moment. But the companion is not integral to following the program itself. All you need is your favorite beverage and twenty minutes a day to curl up with the day’s reflections, muse them over and jot down the gratitude that is in your heart.