The Altitude of Gratitude

This Week's Quotation:

Stand fully in the now moment with gratitude, enthusiasm, openness, and readiness to respond to life as it greets you. Give thanks for what most people take for granted. Live in the attitude and altitude of gratitude.

~ Michael Bernard Beckwith

The Altitude of Gratitude

Terri McCartney

We've all heard a lot about the importance of expressing gratitude, yet it's so influential that it's always worth revisiting. I've found that living in the attitude and altitude of gratitude is an amazing practice for maintaining a vitalizing vibrational state and for uplifting one's frequency when it has dived. And we all know what that feels like!

Our spiritual practice is not just for ourselves. Since the butterfly effect was discovered in the 1960s, demonstrating how even the most trivial event can ripple out to have major unanticipated consequences, we know that everything we do ripples out to influence all that is, whether we see evidence of that or not.

I have come to see my spiritual practice as my social contract. I experience myself as a proxy for those who cannot do it for themselves for whatever reason. Just as I shower to cleanse my body, I view spiritual practice as the way to cleanse my vibration and lift the world with me. Gratitude is an awesome practice and a powerful cleanser of heavier vibrations. Best of all, we can do it anywhere, at any time.

As soon as we open our eyes to a new day—before we even put a foot on the floor—we can remember to express gratitude for our life and for being in the flow of Love that's always emanating. We can imprint the water we drink and the food we eat with love and gratitude. Throughout the day, we can give thanks not only for that which carries a "woohoo!" but also for the challenges we are confronting. We can appreciate having the grace to navigate those trials and give thanks for the evolution they are activating, strengthening our ability to bring more and more heaven to earth.

Working on our rough edges with a light, appreciative, and forgiving heart also sends blessing ripples. A compassionate and even comedic view of the human condition serves me well—not as a way to deny my own or other's shortcomings, but as a way of welcoming them to be cleared and transformed.

From the altitude of gratitude, we are a radiating beacon of blessings to others—a light of Love beaming for those lost in the dark.

About Open Windows

We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.

We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.