People teach what they most need to learn.

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.

Gratitude is like a flashlight. It lights up what is already there. You don't necessarily have anything more or different, but suddenly you can actually see what it is. And because you can see, you no longer take it for granted.

Gratitude connects us to others and feeling gratitude allows us to be our best selves. When we are truly grateful, we can count on living the life we want

Gratitude helps us love well by keeping us focused on the beauty in our relationship and the person we love.

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.

Like so many other positive acts, it turns out that hugging boosts our immune system. Plus it just plain feels good! So hug someone today, perhaps a person who seems particularly in need.