How are you today? Have you changed your mind about anything? Have you opened your heart further recently? Have you gone to work by a different route? What happiness did you give to someone today that also brought you happiness? What are you going to do right now, and how do you feel about it?

If you are going to do something right now, or are in the middle of something right now that does not make your heart bounce for joy, what new approach can you take that will make your heart bounce?

Your sense of gratitude toward Me is your awareness of My gratitude for you.

You do not have to be grateful. Gratitude is not an assignment you fulfill. As you come closer to Me, you feel more of My gratitude for Creation. You experience My gratitude and call it yours.

Of course, the closer you come to Me in your awareness, the closer I come to you in your awareness. Who is it Who seems to come closer, you or I?

Sometimes you have seen gratitude as an embarrassingly humble position, an emotional outbreak where you happily and luckily have received an undeserved bounty, as if you were not deserving, that somehow a great gift fell on you, and in the same breath as your gratitude, you entreat. On your knees, you ask for more of the same. Sort of a double-handed gratitude. "Thanks and keep giving to me, unworthy as I am."

As you learn to appreciate, your appreciation grows. Appreciation needs to grow. Discernment is not better than appreciation.

Begin with appreciating your life. That you have it, that it was given to you, that you are the holder of it. You were given a beautiful musical instrument with many chords, and you are learning how to play the high notes. To do this, first it is necessary to appreciate sound.

How beautiful is one petal from a tree! How beautiful is one tree. How beautiful is one Human Being. Oh, the beauty! A Human Being is a delightful sight. Think a moment of what it is to have a Human Being before you. It is like having the Kohinoor diamond. The only thing is that when you have the diamond in front of you, alas, you are often in ignorance of the value. That must be what purgatory is, beloveds — to have a treasure and not know its true value. Imagine thinking that a diamond is a bauble! Imagine thinking that the Kohinoor diamond is glass!

I say, "I AM." I say, "I am right here." I say, "I am always right here." I say, "You have Me always, beloveds."

Beloveds, you live in many worlds. It doesn't matter where your body is, and it doesn't matter where your mind is. I am totally absolutely right here with you. I am as near to you as your breath. We are so vital and vibrant to each other. We are the same breath. Who breathes your lungs in and out, you or I? Who can separate Us? Neither you nor I.

The way plants grow through the crust of the soil and appear, just like that a new world is going to burst forth. This is a long-awaited-for event, and now the spring of the world has come.

You, My beloveds, are the preceptors of this new world. You wanted it. You thought of it. You pictured it. You felt it. Your thoughts are pulling on Our submerged world like a strong magnet. Based on your thoughts, the world can only burst forth through the surface of life and reveal itself for the Heaven it is.

World life is important to you. Naturally, it is and is meant to be. It is where you consciously spend most of your time. It may be repetitive. It may not always be scintillating. It may not even be your cup of tea. Yet it serves a purpose. It's better not to worship worldly life, yet you do engage in it no matter what. Why not enjoy it while you're at it, and make it wonderful?

How can anyone be depressed when trees grow and flowers bloom? How can any heart feel depressed when even one apple grows on a tree? When one baby smiles. When there is even one such a thing as a baby gerbil to steal your heart. When there is music. When every forest is a work of art. When a crayon can make a mark on paper. When children play. When there are choo-choo trains. When there are puddles to stomp in. When winds blow. When blossoms that fall nourish their trees for the next year. When everything has a purpose. When purpose has a purpose.

You start tomorrow today. Today you set up tomorrow. How do you treat today? How do you welcome it? As you serve it, you will be served.

Serve with splendor, and you will have a splendid day.

Treat your days with respect.

Days don't hassle you. You hassle them.

You wrest them as though they were something to fend off.

Look forward toward today, and set the tone for tomorrow. Tomorrow is an extension of today. It is like you pull tomorrow after you.

Today is the day you write on, and it is printed tomorrow.