|
#40 July 30, 2007
How to be a Great Saint in One Lesson
All Mixed Up with Thankfulness
Dear James,
The great saint may be said to mix all
his [and/or her] thoughts with
thanks. G.K. Chesterton
All of our thoughts right now are completely
mixed with thanks. Our grandson, Tiernan
Robert Wangaard, son of Jessene and Kjell,
little brother to Teagan, was born on July 25
at 7:45 pm. He weighed in at 9 pounds, 2
ounces. We leave in a few days to go meet him
and celebrate this gift. For me, Papa J as I
am known, Tiernan's birthday falls on the
anniversary of my dad's death. The day's
memory and grief is now softened by this joy.
I am so thankful and look forward to telling
Tiernan about my father some day.
So? What's the Lesson?
My lesson is simple, hard to do consistently,
but worth the effort. Make sure, when you
catch yourself thinking about something or
someone and you are twisting off to the
"other side of the force", find something -
right then - about which/whom you can be
thankful. When you catch yourself wanting to
disparage someone and do it out loud, stop,
find someone for whom you can be grateful.
Hold that person in your spirit for a while.
See what happens.
We have so much for which we can be thankful
and grateful. Take a breath. Take two
breaths. Thankful aren't you? Next time you
have a doctor's appointment, no matter the
reason, ask your doctor to let you listen to
your heart beat. Once. Twice. Three times.
Steady. Thankful aren't you? Next time you go
walking hold your spouse's hand, your child's
hand, your grandchild's hand. Look at the
world through their eyes. Thankful aren't you?
Now it is up to you to add more lessons, fill
in the gaps and the blanks where thankfulness
can fit in your daily life. Here endeth the
lesson.
NEXT WEEK
Thankfulness, part 2, from another perspective.
Remember, while we are doing "good without
looking back" - let's see what happens
when we add thankfulness to the
doing-ness.
|
|
Subscribe
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
|
