True mindfulness gets that gift aspect of the world into view. When our intellect learns to recognize the gift aspect of the world, when our will learns to acknowledge it, our feelings to appreciate it, ever wider circles of mindfulness make our world come alive.

I have in mind the image of expanding ripples on the surface of a pond. The pebble that started them is the little plop of surprise. As the ripples expand, we come alive. In the end, gratefulness will be our full aliveness to a gratuitously given world.

from Essential Writings