We keep these hopes in a special place in our home. I always enjoy looking back over what we had hoped for in previous years and then remember how things unfolded.

It's a very simple practice that has opened me into a greater appreciation for gratitude in my life. Nothing spectacular or flashy. Just the gradual growth of attempting to become more grateful.

I wonder sometimes what it would be like if gratitude became a regular, even an essential part of our lives? How would that shape our families? Would our communities be different? In what ways would gratitude influence our society and culture?

There are many times I'm not as grateful as I could be. Perhaps that may be true for you as well. Scarcity guides the day. Indifference wields its way. There will never be enough. Disappointment unfolds from unmet expectations. Resentment rears its ugly head. These feed off of each other and eventually we grow calloused toward life and the lives of others.

Gratitude asks something different. In very small and little gestures, gratitude says "thank you" "there is enough" "I'm sorry", "how can I help?" What would it mean for our lives to be guided by gratitude's compass?