Be Thankful for All of It!

There is a tremendous power in gratitude!

Okay, I'm not the first one to point this out! However, this relates directly to my first post (Who Would You Rather Be? - Tuesday, December 2, 2008), so if you have read that one, this will give you additional insights - as did yesterday's post (What Went Wrong? - Wednesday, December 3, 2008).

When I wrote "Who Would You Rather Be?" I stated that "I haven't thought of a formula or concept for how to apply [the principle being discussed] to my life in every instance." The principle being discussed was that of "self-worth" - of appreciating ourselves exactly as we are in this moment, regardless of what might be going on in our lives!

Well, it just jumped out at me! Not only should we appreciate ourselves exactly as we are in this moment, but also our lives, exactly as they are in this moment!

Here's the point: almost every circumstance in our lives is there because we attracted it through our thoughts. In other words, it is there because we thought it into existence! So, if there are negatives in our life that resulted from incorrect (negative) thinking, then those negative results will motivate us to do something to eliminate them.

The wonderful thing here is that if they resulted from thought, then they can be changed by thought; and until we see the results (or have them in our lives), we don't know what needs to be changed! Once we do, then we can set about to change them; thus everything in our lives is a blessing!

This allows me to segue into an appropriate analogy. This is from T. Harv Ecker, in his book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, and it is one of the best analogies I have ever heard. (I must say that I am delighted to be able to expand on Harv's metaphor!)

The analogy is simply one of a printer that produces a Word document with a typo in it. So, upon noticing the typo, its author - who is clearly technologically-challenged - corrects the mistake by using white-out. Needing additional copies, he presses "Print" again and, to his dismay, discovers the same typo! So he grabs his white-out and again fixes the mistake; whereupon he pushes "Print" only to get the same result once again.

It is readily apparent (to those of us with above-average IQ's!) that no matter how many times our Einstein repeats the process, he will get the same result - because he is working on the effect, and not on the cause or source of the problem! The printed copies are merely effects. The cause lies within the software, not the hardware! It is with the program or, at least, a programmed result.

And so it is with the circumstances of our life. No matter how many times we try to fix the circumstances of our lives, they are only effects. They are simply output! What must be changed are the results of our program, and those results are our thoughts!

So when we see "physical" results (circumstances and events), which we do not like, then we need only look to our thoughts to see and correct the true causes. Now here is what I have to add (I think!) to Harv's analogy: while it is possible (and preferable) to correct our mistakes before printing, it is often difficult to do so until we get a "proof" copy.

And so it is with our lives. Until we have the "proof" of our thoughts, in the form of visible results (circumstances and events), we are often unaware of our (mental) mistakes. Once we see them, however, we are then (and only then, often) in a position to correct the programmed results (or thoughts) that caused them. Thus the proof, in the form or circumstances, is often - though not always - necessary in order for us to make adjustments or correct course.

So be grateful for all of it - for everything that is in your life; because if any of it is bad, then you are being appraised that you must fix your programmed results - your thoughts!

(To learn more about the "program" itself - which is your beliefs - you may refer to Chapter II, of Book III in my Secret of Life Series, available at http://www.thesecretoflifebooks.com/lawofattraction.html.)