Chapter 44
Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep
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Today's Empowering Quote
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"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of
all others."
-Cicero
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Today's Empowering Question
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"Comparing my life to the homeless person on the street, what do
I feel grateful for?"
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Today's Fast Session
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I felt I needed to ask a particularly pointed question today, by
including the reference to the homeless person. Why?
Because most people who have a job, a home, a family, and a
country that lets you live in freedom, for the most part don't
appreciate it. You take it for granted. And comparing yourself
to someone who would be grateful for 1/1000th of what you probably
have puts things in better perspective...
...especially when you get angry at trivial stuff that doesn't
really matter. :)
A perfect example...
I recently saw a movie starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, 'City
of Angels.' Cage plays an angel, Seth, whose "job" is to take people
who die onto the next place.
Ryan plays a cardiologist, Maggie, who loses a patient on the
operating table. Seth takes Maggie's patient...
...and falls in "love" with her. First he learns what love is,
then he falls. Ultimately, he decides to give up his place in
eternity, to become human... and to die like all humans must.
Shortly after he goes through the painful process of becoming
human, they have less than 24 hours together and she has a tragic
fatal accident.
His emotional pain is beyond description. He gave up
eternal "life" for her and now he doesn't even have her.
Soon after, his best angel friend asked him if he knew this was
going to happen, would he still have done it?
He said, "I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one
kiss of her lips, one touch of her hand, than an eternity without
it... One."
It was at that moment that I renewed my conviction that no matter
how bad things could get, no matter what tragedy befalls me, I'm
grateful for even the smallest of things.
But this feeling can be fleeting and of little value unless you
actually take the time to acknowledge it.... Regularly.
To do that you must recognize what you have. If you don't,
you'll regularly go on mourning the tiniest of inconsequential crap.
And literally billions of people do exactly that every day.
Keep in mind the homeless person and Seth.
What can you be thankful for?
Does it HAVE to be your new car? Can't it be just a smile?
How about that dinner that was made for you last night? Did
you shiver last night as you slept? Many did. Do you have a
job? Marketable skills? A nice neighbor? New shoes? Any shoes?
What's all this about? What is gratitude?
It's simply a way for us to feel good any time we want...for
free. And if we share it with others, it's a way for them to
feel good, too... any time you want.
Can you see why Cicero has such an exalted opinion of gratitude?
Now take a minute and find out what you have to feel grateful
for... And if it's someone else, tell him or her.
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Today's Winning Beliefs
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-- I appreciate all that I have all the time
-- I am grateful for all my challenges
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