Good Morning … As I was deciding what our Teaching today was to be on, I was sent a Quote by Sunnie that nailed it for me … I know we have heard an awful lot over the past few months about Gratitude, about being aware of our Blessings, about the Power this mind set has and about the effects it has on our overall life experience … So I admit I debated a while about one more talk about something everyone already knows … But then the reality of it sunk in and well here we are … I just do not think we can talk about this too much or understand it to well …
First lets look at the Quote that got it all started … “No life is more empty of Blessing than the one that fails to see and be Thankful for the Blessing it already contains” … Let me repeat that “No life is more empty of Blessing than the one that fails to see and be Thankful for the Blessing it already contains” … Wow, pretty simple in concept and yet how amazingly powerful …
No matter what is going on in our live, most of us agree I think that it could always be better, right ??? There is always something else we could enjoy, get, use, travel to - whatever … The bottom line is there is always room to improve … But how many of us really look at the other side of that coin when we are contemplating the many things we want to bring into our lives ??? How many of us actually sit and tick off all the Wonderful Blessing that already fills our lives ??? Yeah it almost sounds like I am saying how many go “yeah, my knees hurt but at least I have legs, I mean there are those who don't even have legs, or can't even walk” … Well if it sounds that way, good - that is exactly what I am saying … You see if there is still lack in our lives, and of course there is, more likely than not I suggest it is because of one simple fact … We are coming up woefully short in being Thankful, being Grateful for what we DO have already … We see little or nothing of the Blessing already poured out over us, we see little or nothing of the incredible Manifestations present in our lives, we attach little or nothing in the way of importance to what already exists in our lives and sound much like, dare I say it, spoiled children who are always whining about some new toy they want, while never even touching the ones they have …
Without even knowing it, our focus is totally caught up in what is missing and never once do we see how much we already have, let alone show any Gratitude for it … How powerful is the “Attitude of Gratitude” ??? Well I looked for some scripture to back up it's importance and it was funny to me how easy it was to find them … It is a fact that God we understand Him or Her, is very drawn to and appreciative of a Grateful Heart, one that sees the many Blessings that surround it on a daily basis … And yes, I am talking about things such as a Beautiful Sunrise, that beautiful Blue Bird or Cardinal that just fluttered by … By the little baby that smiles at you, the freshness of the air, the power of the Thunderstorm, I could just go on and on but you get the idea … And we haven't even started on “Life” events … Just think of the myriad ways your life is Blessed each and every day …
The Lord Himself spoke of it may times when taught with Parables and stories of cures … Recall for example the story of the 10 Lepers who were Healed while going to see the High Priests … When the one returned to say Thank You to Him, He asked “Where are the others, were they not also Healed” ??? Of course He knew they were, but He was making a point - why had only the one come back to express his appreciation for being made whole ??? He was also showing quite clearly that while the Healing stood, He would have been appreciative of some Gratitude …
Then there is the parable about the workers in the field … You know, the one where the land owner hires people through out the day to work in his vineyards, and at the end of the day, pays them all the same wage … And yes, while the story is about many different aspects of Divine relationship, it is also about “counting our Blessings” … In other words, God is saying, “Hey, stop complaining about what you have, it is exactly what you have asked and worked for - once you are Grateful for what you have, you will be open to receive more” …
And then there is one that I think is most direct, the story about the man who left his money divided up between various men, and then comes back to see what they have done with it … You know, the story about the “Talents” … Since the guy who horded and buried his not only was punished for not using his, he also had what little he did have taken away … In other words, I think God was saying “well since you don't even see the Blessing in what you already have been given, since you cannot see past your fear, there is no reason to give you any more” … I know it sounds a bit harsh, but then it is the way the whole world and I submit, the Universe works … We all reward and give more to those who show they can be trusted and are ready to move forward with more … And how does one show they are ready ??? When they exhibit the ability to appreciate what is already theirs with out whining on and on about what they want and what they don't have yet … Each of us who has ever been in charge of others knows this to be true …
So I ask you, how many of us apply these Principles to our very own lives, even more importantly, how many of us apply these to our Spiritual Lives ??? Our use of the Power of Manifestation ??? Our use of the Law of Attraction … I bet if I asked any of you today what was lacking in your life, the list would come fast and easy … I know that is true with me - but if I were to flip the question and ask what was Right in your life, how fast would the list come then … For that matter would there even be a list or just a thing or two … I think it directly depends on where we spend the majority of our time when we are thinking … We do the majority of our thoughts seem to flock when we are not actively policing them ??? Sort of where do we tend to go in thought by default - where is our mind conditioned to go ???
Have you ever found yourself locked in some spiral of Negative Thought, without ever really realizing you were even going there ??? I have and it sometimes really shocks me … How did one simple thought about I wish I had this or that suddenly turn into this laundry list of frustration and anger ??? Where did that come from ??? It came from within me and more to the point it came as a result of me spending years thinking like that - continually going there in thought, so much so that now my brain will invent things if necessary to get me there … I am doing the very thing I am swearing I want not to do, I am attracting, causing more negative things to happen in my life, so I can sustain the image not being happy or Grateful … I am pulling more of the same ole same ole into my life …
When on the other hand, if all I did was to STOP, every time I caught my “old brain” slipping into one of its negative spirals and say NO to it, and then purposefully change over to thinking about something Good in my life, would it really be that long before that became a learned pattern ??? They say only a few short weeks, 3 or 4 are required to teach or retrain your mind … It matters not what your teaching it, it all works about the same … Just a couple of weeks and you will have literally turned your life around … And another amazing aspect is that the more you do this, the more you train your brain to be Happy and Thankful, the more things you discover you have to be Thankful about … Really, it is totally true … It is sort of like going to the Eye Doctor for the 1st time after 50 years of not going … You suddenly put on these glasses and viola' - you can see … But your not seeing things that were not there before, your seeing things around you, you had never been able to see before …
The very same Truth applies to your life, the more you open your eyes to Goodness that already exists around you, the more you become aware of how many Blessing surround you and those you love, the more your Spiritual Eyes will focus in on how much more is around you …
So as we go into our Meditation today, let's really try to focus on the Good, focus and express honest Gratitude for everything that is already in place around us … Let's really work at becoming more and more aware, on a daily basis of just how Blessed each and every one of us truly is …
God Bless - Namaste' …
