Gratitude: Pilgrim Style

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”

-- Edward Sandford Martin

 *** When you think about it we have so much more than the pilgrims when they first celebrated Thanksgiving. But, what does “more” really mean? Indeed, today we live in a materialistic world; a world designed to make work easier and leisure time more enjoyable. Believe it or not, the pilgrims lived in a materialistic world too. However, the material things they possessed were used solely for survival and sustenance. For sure, life was not easy for the early settlers. They barely survived their first New England winter. It is estimated that half of the settlers died from starvation or scurvy. Yet, they were grateful for what they felt gave meaning to life: faith, family, friends,and hard work. In 1621, with the help of their Native American neighbors, the pilgrims celebrated their first “harvest home,” known to us as our “Thanksgiving.” In a letter to a friend in England,Colonist Edward Winslow wrote of the “harvest home” celebration. He concluded his letter with: 

"And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at the time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that, we often wish you partakers of our plenty." 

There is no question that we live in a world that no pilgrim could have ever imagined. We live in a world of full of abundant resources and unprecedented opportunity. Yet, far too often we take too many things for granted. Not so for the pilgrims; they knew that it was God that provided for them. Hence, it was God’s provisions that they were most grateful for. The pilgrims benefited from the law of gratefulness: Being grateful for something actually attracts more of what you are grateful for.

The pilgrims were grateful for their relationship with God. It was because of their gratefulness that their faith continued to grow despite the adversity they faced day in and day out. Their faith in God gave them hope; hope for a better tomorrow.
The pilgrims were grateful for their skills that helped them survive; courage, determination, perseverance and creativity. It was because of their gratefulness that they remained optimistic. Their optimism allowed them to develop and improve the skills that made survival and their way of life a little easier.

The pilgrims were grateful for their neighbors, the Native Americans. It was because of their gratefulness that they were able to develop a relationship with a group of people who taught them how to survive off the land.

The pilgrims were grateful for each other. It was because of their gratefulness that they were able to develop a community; a community that not only fostered survival, but fostered harmony and productivity too.

The pilgrims were also grateful for their freedom. It was because of their gratefulness that they toiled and fought diligently to retain what they held so precious; the right to be free.

So there you have it, a lesson from the pilgrims: If you want to experience more of something, you must be grateful for what you already have. If you want to experience more love in your life, you must be grateful for the love that you already have. If you want to experience more meaningful relationships, you must be grateful for the relationships that you have already formed. If you want to experience greater peace, you must be grateful for the peace that already exists. If you want to experience more success, you must be grateful for the successes that you have obtained thus far.

This Thanksgiving, I urge you to practice an “attitude of gratitude.” You can do this by taking some time to reflect on those things in your life that you are grateful for. Believe me; we all have many, many things to be thankful for Because, we all have been abundantly blessed by “the Goodness of God,” this exercise should take a little time. Next, commit to a no complaining day. Complaining is the opposite of being grateful. Just like being grateful, you’ll get more of what you complain about too. When you find yourself complaining (in thought or in word) about somebody or something, do the following: immediately stop complaining, say the word, “but,” and find something positive about the person or thing that you are complaining about. If you practice being grateful and eliminate the complaining in your life, you will find that you’ll get more of what you want and less of what you do not want.

Remember, if the pilgrims were able to survive and flourish in the 1600’s by practicing gratitude just think of what you can do today in the land of opportunity and plenty! Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

It's your life: live it, love it & celebrate it!
MJD

The Right Ingredient

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

-- William Arthur Ward

***

Just as a dish can go from bland to delectable by adding the right ingredient, your life can be transformed by adding the right ingredient too. The right ingredient is gratitude. If you want to make the common, routine and ordinary something special, just add a little gratitude. You can't go wrong!

***
Its your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it!
MJD

Imagine That

"There are enough genuine difficulties in life to encounter, don't allow your imagination to increase the number."
-- Neil Eskelin

***

Life is tough. It is supposed to be. Its through challenges and adversity that we grow. Eskelin is right on point! There will be enough genuine problems in life that we do not need to create more for ourselves by conjuring them up. An imagination fueled by fear will most certainly create difficulties for us. We will conjure up all kinds of things. The more we fear, the more we imagine. We will imagine things that will paralyze our hopes and dreams. We will imagine things that will inhibit us from beginning something new and we will imagine things that will convince it is time to quit something that is worthwhile.

Imagination is a gift. Innovations, Inventions and breakthroughs have all been spawned by the power of imagination. Imagination allows one to see things differently than what exists at the present. Our imagination should serve us, not hinder us. When we allow fear to control our imagination. We begin to move in the direction of creating the type of circumstances we fear most. The Good Book says, ""That which I feared most has come upon me."

Today is the day to stop letting your imagination create difficulties for you. Instead, let your imagination create circumstances designed to improve your lot and make life easier for you. It is important to remember the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

Let the Power of Imagination work for you - Imagine a better tomorrow!

***
It's Your Life: Live it, Love it, Celebrate it!
MJD

Passion Play

“Failure is impossible.”
-- Susan B. Anthony

***

Talk about having passion, Susan B. Anthony could easily be the poster child for "Passion." One hundred thirty eight (138) years ago today, Susan Brownell Anthony, marched into a Rochester, New York voting precinct and cast her vote in the 1872 presidential election. The problem was it was illegal for women to vote. She was arrested for knowingly voting without a lawful right, and was subsequently fined $100; a fine which she refused to pay.

Susan B. Anthony believed that the legal, political, and social inequities American women suffered were due to the fact that women lacked the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony was determined that woman should, and one day would be granted the right to vote. Believing that nothing was impossible, Susan B. Anthony quickly emerged as the leader of the Women’s suffrage movement. Susan B. Anthony worked fervently and tirelessly for the cause up until her death in 1906. One month before her death, she was quoted as saying, “Failure is impossible.” Fourteen years after her death, the 19th amendment was passed and women won the right to vote.

How about you? Do you believe that failure is impossible? It all comes down to passion and belief. Susan B. Anthony was passionate about women’s suffrage. Her passion fueled the belief that someday women would vote.

Passion, Passion, Passion! The more passionate you become about something, the more you believe in it. The more you believe in something, the more the impossible becomes possible. How does the impossible become possible? It is because of Passion! Passion is emotion and emotion is energy; the more passionate you are about something, the more energy that is generated. Passion becomes energy that keeps you going when the critics and naysayers say it cannot be done. Passion becomes energy that allows you ignore distractions and stay focused on your goal. Passion becomes energy that gives you the physical strength to keep going when others would have quit long ago.

You cannot have success without first having passion. The impossible can never become possible without passion. I’ve seen far too many people, who because of a lack passion, “go through the motions.” “Going through the motions,” at best, will get you average or ordinary results. You can bet that Susan B. Anthony did not just go through the motions. Susan B. Anthony’s passion for women’s suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment had a significant impact on American History and our nation as it exists today.

Remember, those that lack passion tend to see the possible as being impossible; whereas, people with passion see the impossible as possible. Don’t believe me; think of the millions of women who voted on Tuesday.

***
It's your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it!
MJD

"Do-or-Die"

“Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments.”
-- Henry Ward Beecher

***

In sports you will often hear the term, “Do-or-Die.” “Do-or-Die” means an athlete or team must succeed at something in order to avoid defeat, elimination, and/or failure. A “Do-or-Die” event is easily identifiable and is determined solely by the outcome. For example, Team A must win in order to make the playoffs. Team A finds themselves in a “Do-or-Die” situation. If Team A loses, they will be eliminated from contention.

“Do-or Die” situations do not just take place in athletic contests. “Do-or-Die” situations can and do occur in our everyday lives. Personal “Do-or-Die” situations are determined by how much value we place on the outcome of an event. If we place a great deal of value on the outcome of an event, it is possible to have manifested a “Do-or-Die” situation for ourselves. The problem with a personal “Do-or-Die” situation is the sole focus is on the outcome; it is you win or you lose, it is “we do” or “we die.” The problem with self-manifested “Do-or-Die” events is the tendency to believe that the outcome of a single event determines our fate.

“Do-or- Die” situations have their place in athletic competitions, but have no place in our personal lives. In order to declare a winner in an athletic competition, someone has to win and someone has to lose. That’s the nature of competition and keeping score.

In your personal life, your fate is not foretold by a single event. Sure, nobody likes to be defeated, eliminated, or fail. However, it is not the outcome of a single event that counts. It is the person you become in the process that really counts.

Remember that life is a series of ups and downs, and things happen for a reason. I urge you to be patient and do not create “Do-or-Die” situations for yourself. Sure, you may not have got the big promotion you had hope for; you may not have got accepted into the college you had hope for, or your mate may have broke of the relationship with you; it is not the end of the world. Always remember, things happen for a reason.

To illustrate, my daughter, Taylor, got cut from the volleyball team her freshman year in high school. At first, it appeared that the sun was not going to rise the next day, or ever for that matter. But, things happen for a reason. She spent that season (volleyball) working on developing her softball skills. By the end of her freshman season, she was brought up to the varsity team. She started the next three years. By the end of her senior season, she had accumulated numerous awards and honors. Getting cut from the volleyball team was actually a good thing. Although at the time, it would have been impossible for her to comprehend such a thing. Why? It is because making the volleyball team became a “Do-or- Die” situation for her.

I bet if you look back on your life, you’ll find that you have created a few “Do-or-Die” situations yourself. I ask you, out of those situations, how many times did things turn out just fine, or perhaps even better than you could have imagined?

Keep in mind that when you create “Do-or-Die” situations, you burden yourself with unnecessary stress and anxiety, and with stress and anxiety comes petulance, loss of focus, fatigue and excessive worry. Psychologists have demonstrated the mild anxiety can facilitate performance. However, excessive anxiety is a detriment to performance. There is nothing mild about a “Do-or-Die” situation.

Because the focus of a “Do-or-Die” situation is on future results, one denies themselves the enjoyment of the present moment. Minutes, hours, days and months go by when you are caught up in the future; a future that we really don’t have any control over. All we really have is the present moment. Therefore, the only thing we can control is the present moment. It is the present moment that will shape our future. When you assign a “Do-or-Die” status to an event, it marks the beginning of missing out on what is really important in life; the here, the now. I’m not saying that you should not plan for the future. Yes, you set goals and work hard to achieve them. What I am saying is never allow an event to become a “Do-or-Die” situation.

Agreed! No more “Do-or-Die” situations; leave those to athletic competitions. There will be times when you have put forth good effort and things will not work out as you had hoped for. Remember, something better awaits you. Effort never goes unrewarded; sometimes it just takes a little time.

***
It's your life: Live it, Love it & Embrace it!
MJD