Spiritual leaders teach that waking up is a process, that it doesn't just happen once and for all, but must occur again and again when we realize we have forgotten the miracle of being alive, and in recognizing our forgetfulness, we wake to the miracle once again. In the moments we are awake to the wonder of simply being alive, gratitude flows, no matter our circumstances.

Take a deep breath and think of the three things you are grateful for, right in this moment.

We can't wait until everything is OK-with us or with the rest of the world-to feel thankful, or we will never experience joy at all.

Wholeness invokes balance.

Whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of well-being and swept up by the feeling of joy.

Gratitude makes us feel bursting with delight, just to remember the gifts we have received. Thus we are doubly blessed when we receive something: for the gift itself and later, in recall, for the miracle of having been given it.

In the moments we are awake to the wonder of simply being alive, gratitude flows, no matter our circumstances.