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.

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.

At each level of gratitude our soul's capacity deepens, starting with contentment to meaningfulness, and finally, to pure joy.

We hold on so tightly that our hands are unavailable to reach out for the happiness we could gain by letting go.

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

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.

Patience is no small, fell-good personal quality. It is at the heart of diplomacy and civility, lawfulness and civil order. Without it, people can't work together and society can't function at all. With it, we create the possibility of peace between people and between nations.