Gratitude

Great way to start your day…

Technorati Tags: eft, Gratitude

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I’ve ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband’s employer’s home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband’s employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man’s face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

‘Look at it.’ He said. ‘Read what it says.’

She read the words ‘ United States of America ‘.

‘No, not that; read further.’

‘One cent?’

‘No, keep reading.’

‘In God we Trust?’ ‘Yes!’ ‘And?’

‘And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God’s way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, ‘In God We Trust,’ and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

Technorati Tags: Gratitude, Happiness, joy, wealth

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water! . She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe you?”

You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”
He said … “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Many year’s later that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won.

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words ….

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”
(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank You, God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands.”

There’s a saying which goes something like this: Bread cast on the waters comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never see the deed again at least you will have made the world a better place - And, after all, isn’t that what life is all about?

Life is as good as I allow it to be.

Technorati Tags: Gratitude, The Good Life

I heard a guy talk about life as “the vulture on the bedpost” waiting to talk to us as soon as we wake in the morning.

If I stay in my head and think about how bad life is today, how many people will die to day, how many people will loose their jobs today, and on and on and on, I will spiral into a deep depression. So, I need to get out of this mind set.

This is not to say that these things do not happen and that they are not important to the individuals effected. But it will not do them any good for me to wander thru depression. I cannot get depressed enough to make someone else feel better.

The only way that I can help this world is to operate at a higher level than sitting in depression. If I want to be of any help to anyone, I must get out of this spiral.

I have found that sometimes I have to fight that vulture that greets me as soon as I open my eyes. Sometimes I cannot even put my feet on the floor before he is trying to put me into a deep funk.

So, for me, I fight back as soon as I open my eyes. And the best way for me to do this is with a gratitude list. I begin thinking of ten things that I am grateful for before I even get out of bed.

For starters:

1. I am above ground (not buried)
2. I am sucking air (still breathing)
3. Not in a box (not dead and ready for burial)

Once I get thru these, everything else is gravy. With those things in place, I can work with anything.

The next thing that I start thinking about is how can I be of service to mankind today? What can I do to help make the world a better place to live in?

One question that I ask myself on a regular basis is “How can I be the best (fill in the blank) today”?

When I go thru my day trying to be the best I can be, I am working to be better. And a good daily goal is to be better to day than yesterday.

“If I turn it over to my higher power and it gets screwed up, it is His fault”

If you have something bothering you, put it into a “God Box” and let it go. I mean write this big deal thing down on a piece of paper and put it into a container of some sort and turn it over to your higher power or supreme being. If this thing is too big for you, let someone else handle it. Let it go and forget about it.

Then, a couple of months down the road, look at the things you have put in the box. You will find that most of these things have either not come to pass or you cannot even remember why you thought they were so big.

So, to get this big nasty bird off of your bedpost, practice gratitude and turning things over.

Life is as good as I allow it to be.

Technorati Tags: God Box, gratitude

Technorati Tags: god box, Gratitude, Happiness