The Truth About Gratitude

We often think of gratitude as giving thanks for the material things that we receive rather than as giving thanks to the Divine Source simply because it is the Allness through which we live and move have our being. Spirit, God, Allah, Truth, Jehovah, Lord, Mother, Father -- whatever you want to call Divine Source -- is always blessing us. Gratitude is not a quid pro quo -- if you give me then I will be thankful; it is part of our spiritual consciousness. Gratitude should be the lens through which we view the world. If we only look through that lens on the material plane, we will always wait for things on the outside to tell us how we should feel on the inside. We will be grateful only when everything appears to be working out in accordance to our wants, needs and desires. We will limit our praise for God and thus dim the light of our own awakening to how much we can get rather than who we are. Beloved, we are children of a living God. Our faith must surpass our understanding of this world so that we judge not by appearances but by righteous judgment, the understanding that all things are working together for our greatest good. What type of faith do we stand on when we throw in the towel at every fluctuation in the stock market, every lost job, every foreclosed mortgage and second-guess Divine Source? How can we second-guess the Spirit, the Source, the Allness that is the very breath of life? How can we not thank that breath -- that wisdom, that power, that infinite OM everywhere present -- all of the time? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul said give thanks to God always. He didn't say, we need to get some money or a job or a house or a car in order to be thankful. If we truly look beyond physical limitations and see the infinite power of the Spirit of Truth, we will always be grateful. The Psalmist says, in the 121st Psalm, "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD." He is saying, "I will see beyond my present situation to realize that God is always blessing me." No matter what my circumstances appear to be, I am always being blessed by God. I always have something to be thankful for. I transcend the stuff that is going on around me. I transcend the fear that I won't be able to find that perfect divine opportunity that I need to catapult me into a new life, a new existence, a new readiness for the person that I want to become - because I already am who I am supposed to be. I contemplate all things from the highest point of view - not from the appearances, not from doubt, not from what other people say or think, not from a bank account or a bonus, not even from who I see myself as - but from who I know myself to be. I am a child of God. I know from whence my help comes. I know my prayers are answered. I know that God is always blessing me and I am always thanking God. I am thanking God because I am always receiving my good even when I have done nothing to deserve it, even when I have no clue from whence it comes, even when I am so distracted by my own thoughts that I can't even see it. The truth about gratitude is that when we are grateful without pre-conditions, we open our hearts even more to embrace our divine nature, which unleashes the divine flow even more and our consciousness becomes more receptive to the greatness that is always there. In this consciousness, we don't see a door closing, we see a door opening. We don't see failure, we see opportunity. We don't see lack, we see possibilities. We don't see endings, we see beginnings. We become grateful that we didn't do what we meant to do yesterday because we can do it today and do it even better. We are really grateful for whatever you did, even if you meant it for evil, because we know that God meant for good. We are grateful that we were worried, grateful that we were troubled, grateful that our vision was blurred - if even for a moment because it landed us on our knees - with our eyes lifted to the hills, and it moved our consciousness in accordance with Spirit's divine plan. The truth about gratitude is that I am grateful because I AM. I AM One with Infinite Source. I AM One with Divine Mind. I AM One with the Spirit of Truth. I AM, I AM, I AM is the movement of faith - dancing in the joy that we can do anything but fail. Let us sing this song from shore to shore and sea to shining sea, Beloved, and know that we wear the blessing - not because we choose to put it on but because it is always intricately and infinitely woven as part of us.