--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I express my gratitude, I become more…" description: "\"As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/david-steindl-rast-9835_ascent_as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more_174952.jpg" --- # As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of… ![“As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a spiraling ascent, a process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady center.” quote by David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/david-steindl-rast-9835_ascent_as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more_174952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/david-steindl-rast-9835_ascent_as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more_174952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/david-steindl-rast-9835_ascent_as-i-express-my-gratitude-i-become-more_174952.jpg) > “As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a spiraling ascent, a process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady center.” [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing gratitude deepens awareness, which in turn fuels further expression, creating a positive feedback loop of growth. **In simple terms:** Gratitude awareness leads to more gratitude expression. Key Takeaway Cultivate gratitude to expand personal growth. Themes gratitude awareness growth feedback loop mindfulness Mood warm reflective uplifting Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - daily journaling - thank‑you notes - mindful meditation - community service - teaching gratitude Key Concepts positive psychology spiritual practice self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does expressing gratitude change your perception of daily life? - What small habit can you start to notice gratitude more? A Different Perspective May become self‑conscious or performative if not authentic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Express Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express-gratitude/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Thanksgiving and gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanksgiving-and-gratitude/) [Thanksgiving gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanksgiving-gratitude/) ## Related quotes > [Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/gratefulness-is-the-key-to-a-happy-life-that-we-hold-in-our-hands/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Reflect upon your present blessings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/reflect-upon-your-present-blessings/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [So once in every year we throng Upon a day apart, to praise the Lord with feast and song in thankfulness of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-guiterman/so-once-in-every-year-we-throng-upon-a-day-apart-to-praise-the-lord/) [Arthur Guiterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-guiterman/) > [Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/gratitude-unlocks-the-fullness-of-life/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/be-thankful-for-what-you-have-you-ll-end-up-having-more/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/train-yourself-never-to-put-off-the-word-or-action-for-the-expression/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/let-us-rise-up-and-be-thankful-for-if-we-didn-t-learn-a-lot-today-at/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. It is necessary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/in-daily-life-we-must-see-that-it-is-not-happiness-that-makes-us-2/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love-of-god-in-everything/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-grateful-for-what-i-am-and-have-my-thanksgiving-is-perpetual-it/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Thanks are the highest form of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/thanks-are-the-highest-form-of-thought/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/to-educate-yourself-for-the-feeling-of-gratitude-means-to-take-3/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned or worn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/happiness-cannot-be-traveled-to-owned-earned-or-worn/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-no-such-thing-as-gratitude-unexpressed-if-it-is-unexpressed/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/gratitude-can-transform-common-days-into-thanksgivings/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) ## More by David Steindl-Rast > [Home and journey together constitute the creative polarity of the heart, the two dimensions we must cultivate if we want to 'develop the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/home-and-journey-together-constitute-the-creative-polarity-of-the/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Only gratefulness, in the form of limitless openness for surprise, lays hold of the fullness of life in hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/only-gratefulness-in-the-form-of-limitless-openness-for-surprise-lays/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don't make us happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/gratefulness-makes-us-aware-of-the-gift-and-makes-us-happy-as-long-as/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Any change in attitude changes the way one sees the world, and this in turn changes the way one acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/any-change-in-attitude-changes-the-way-one-sees-the-world-and-this-in/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [If you learn to respond as if it’s the first day in your life and the very last day, then you will have spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/if-you-learn-to-respond-as-if-it-s-the-first-day-in-your-life-and-the/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [We have thousands of opportunities every day to be grateful: for having good weather, to have slept well last night, to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/we-have-thousands-of-opportunities-every-day-to-be-grateful-for/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [The universe is gratis. It cannot be earned, nor need it be earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/the-universe-is-gratis-it-cannot-be-earned-nor-need-it-be-earned/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [...our happiness hinges not on good luck; it hinges on peace of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/our-happiness-hinges-not-on-good-luck-it-hinges-on-peace-of-heart/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [From experience we know that whenever we are truly awake and alive, we are also truly grateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/from-experience-we-know-that-whenever-we-are-truly-awake-and-alive-we/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Blessing is the lifeblood throbbing through the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/blessing-is-the-lifeblood-throbbing-through-the-universe/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Beauty seen makes the one who sees it more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/beauty-seen-makes-the-one-who-sees-it-more-beautiful/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [Each one of us is called to become that great song that comes out of the silence, and the more we let ourselves down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/each-one-of-us-is-called-to-become-that-great-song-that-comes-out-of/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [In moments of surprise we catch at least a glimpse of the joy to which gratefulness opens the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/in-moments-of-surprise-we-catch-at-least-a-glimpse-of-the-joy-to/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [...One can learn to focus on 'opportunity' as the gift within every given moment. This attitude towards life always improves the situation. Even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/one-can-learn-to-focus-on-opportunity-as-the-gift-within-every-given/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) > [“Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of existence. But rightly understood, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steindl-rast/sometimes-people-get-the-mistaken-notion-that-spirituality-is-a/) [David Steindl-Rast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) [Explore all 70 David Steindl-Rast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steindl-rast/) ## More Ascent quotes > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Without shedding of blood there is no anything. Everything, it seems to me, has to be purchased by selfsacrifice. Our race has marked every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/without-shedding-of-blood-there-is-no-anything-everything-it-seems-to/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [No one should deny the danger of the descent, but it can be risked. No one need risk it, but it is certain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-one-should-deny-the-danger-of-the-descent-but-it-can-be-risked-no/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The real goal of a spiritual tradition should not be ascent, but openness, vulnerability, and this does not require great experiences but, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/the-real-goal-of-a-spiritual-tradition-should-not-be-ascent-but/) [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) > [The growth of all the plants of the garden from seeds and roots keep us mindful, in accordance with of the Parable of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stokes/the-growth-of-all-the-plants-of-the-garden-from-seeds-and-roots-keep/) John Stokes > [There is wonder and a certain wicked pleasure in these giddy ascents and terrible falls, especially as they happen to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/there-is-wonder-and-a-certain-wicked-pleasure-in-these-giddy-ascents/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I at once commenced the ascent through a shower of arrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crook/i-at-once-commenced-the-ascent-through-a-shower-of-arrows/) [George Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crook/) > [Sometimes, when I get a good picture, it feels like I have taken another nervous step into increasingly rarified air. Each good-news picture, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/sometimes-when-i-get-a-good-picture-it-feels-like-i-have-taken/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [The ascent to greatness, however steep and dangerous, may entertain an active spirit with the consciousness and exercise of its own power: but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-ascent-to-greatness-however-steep-and-dangerous-may-entertain-an/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Any movement toward Christ is ascent, and any direction away from Him is down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/any-movement-toward-christ-is-ascent-and-any-direction-away-from-him/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [How much time, creative energy, and emotion do we expend resisting change because we assume growth must always be painful? Much personal growth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/how-much-time-creative-energy-and-emotion-do-we-expend-resisting/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-strategy-of-semantic-ascent-is-that-it-carries-the-discussion/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Despair is good. Despair can be the nadir of one life and the starting point of an ascent into another, better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/despair-is-good-despair-can-be-the-nadir-of-one-life-and-the-starting/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I do not admire a virtue like valour when it is pushed to excess, if I do not see at the same time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-do-not-admire-a-virtue-like-valour-when-it-is-pushed-to-excess-if-i/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) Browse all 168 Ascent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. 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