Is it possible to separate joy and gratitude?  Think of the most joyful moments in your life…the brief moments when everything is ‘right’ when it feels as though all of the stars are properly aligned and the world is bursting with the same joy that you are feeling.  Doesn’t that feeling just naturally flow into gratitude?  Usually those moments don’t last too long because in seeps our worries and concerns, our fears and uncertainties.  But, for that short time, the feeling of connectedness with all of nature, with all of humanity, with all that is, is so joy-filled that it causes us to bow our heads in humility and say, “thank you”.