“Christmas is not a time nor a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” - Calvin Coolidge
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!” - Hamilton Wright Mabie
“There are two ways of spreading light: To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” - Edith Wharton
“Have a wonderful Holiday with family and friends and a Prosperous New Year!” - Larry James
We set aside November as a special time to be grateful and to be thankful for all our blessings! I’m thinking that it might be a great idea to pause for a few seconds every day to think about something for which we are grateful. Gratitude inspires kindness and connection.
I am most grateful for the power of choice. Every day we make thousands of choices about our thoughts, our feelings and our actions. Each choice brings with it it’s own consequences. Some are good and some not so good. I am grateful for the wisdom to make the right choices.
No matter what happens today, choose gratitude. If everything goes your way, choose gratitude. If everything looks as though it is falling apart, choose gratitude. Gratitude is the most powerful choice that you can make. Gratitude changes us so that we more deeply realize the abundance that is available to us.
Albert Schweitzer called gratitude “The secret to life.” He said, “The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole master of life: giving thanks for everything.”
Wouldn’t this be a better world and wouldn’t our relationships all be better if we could train our minds to be grateful for our blessings instead of focusing on our disappointments?
Resolve to make gratitude a daily habit. Gratitude is a muscle that needs to be exercised everyday, so give yourself a personal workout challenge. Experts say that it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit. Let’s all form the habit of gratitude by going 21 days without criticizing, condemning or complaining. It may be tough, and you CAN do it if you truly put your mind to it.
This Thanksgiving, may you celebrate in your own personal way and create a holiday you can be grateful for in the years to come. May you be grateful for all the ups and downs that shape who you are and who you are becoming.
It is my hope that you will start a tradition of meaningful celebration, whether it is an intimate dinner for two, a lively and spirited gathering of the whole family, a day of celebrating yourself, or a time to serve others.
Right now, think of something or someone you are grateful for. Take a moment to recognize what you can appreciate, speaking your gratitude out loud, letting the people you care about know how you feel. Send them an e-mail or better yet, give them a call.
My friend, Wes Hopper, publishes a complimentary “Gratitude Newsletter” each month. Check it out at: http://www.DailyGratitude.com.
Read “A Prayer of Thanksgiving!”
Copyright © 2007 - Larry James. This article is adapted from Larry’s books, “How to Really Love the One You’re With: Affirmative Guidelines for a Healthy Love Relationship,” “LoveNotes for Lovers: Words That Make Music for Two Hearts Dancing” and “Red Hot LoveNotes for Lovers.” Author Larry James presents seminars nationally for singles and couples. Subscribe to Larry’s FREE monthly “LoveNotes for Lovers” eZINE. Contact: CelebrateLove.com, P.O. Box 12695, Scottsdale, AZ 85267-2695. - CelebrateLove.com
NOTE: All articles listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
Want to know how to avoid a gift-giving blunder? To help you develop gift-giving savvy, when you give a gift during the holiday season or on any other occasion, make it a gift of the heart.
A gift of the heart is a gift we give to our friends and relatives that they want and need. A gift is defined as something freely given from one heart to another with no strings attached. A gift with strings is a gift of the ego.
The value of the gift itself is not as important as its presentation and the thoughtfulness behind the giving. Giving gifts that will benefit the recipient is a meaningful gesture. Good gifts move the recipient because they have been chosen with a thoughtful heart.
Giving gifts, while fun and enjoyable in theory, offers endless potential for frustration; thronging crowds, ransacked stores, confusion, indecision, cash depletion and, finally, the belated knowledge that you bought the wrong thing. The task of giving the right gift can be made much easier with a little bit of pre-thought.
Begin now to think and plan ahead. Listen for clues. Comments like, “Wow! That would be great in the family room!” or “It sure would be nice to not have to (fill in the blank)!” or “Oh, I love that, but it’s a little more than I want to pay!” That’s your cue to make a mental note and add it to your gift list.
When you give gifts people want and need, whether it is money, time, talent, advice, Love or other tangible gifts, you will begin to receive back to you what you want. Your friends and relatives will kiss the “returns counter” good-bye and reduce return trips to the mall. The last-minute, rush to the store to find a gift tells a story about you.
A gift given with the thought, “What will I get in return for this,” is a gift of the ego. Why bother? It’s a gift we give because we want to give it rather than a gift that fulfills a need or want. Gifts given from ego are seldom appreciated.
Giving a gift of the heart anticipates desire; what you are offering is wanted and is appropriate. Simple, well chosen gifts unite the recipient and the giver, are appreciated and are often treasured the most. Gifts of the heart light up our friends and relatives with happiness and joy beyond our wildest imaginings.
Thoughtless, inappropriate gifts cause more attention to be given to the giver. Desire for attention is better requested, in a direct way, not with gifts. A gift given of the heart is for giving attention, not requesting it.
What to give?
We can learn everyday a little more about gift-giving by “being” with the people we love so that we know what they want and need. Proper thought, feeling and inquiry must go into the gift selection. A certain quality of attention is often absent in gift-giving. Brief consideration does not create a considerate gift. Gift must be real and given from the heart to be appreciated.
Gifts should be a symbol of being related rather than a bid for reassurance that we are loved.
“The manner in which it is given is worth more than the gift.” - Lynn Johnston
Copyright © 2007 - Larry James. Adapted from the book, “How to Really Love the One You’re With.” Subscribe to Larry’s FREE monthly “LoveNotes for Lovers” eZINE.
NOTE: All articles listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
Be thankful for your relationships.
All of them.
Seems to me that there may be only two prayers worthy of praying. One prayer is to know God better. The other prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
Pray a prayer of self-discovery and one of gratitude, and know God is listening.
It is useless and wastes God’s time — and our mental energy — to pray for things. God has given us the ability to choose. Our greatest power is choice. To use this power to choose to pray for things that God has already given us the power to create may not be an effective use of our time.
I can imagine God being amused. I can hear him saying, “Why don’t they get it? I have given them everything and yet they insist upon asking me for the same things, over and over again.”
It may not seem logical that you should only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. If you are someone who has always used your prayers for asking, this may sound strange to you. This, to some, may appear to be an arrogant way to speak to God. Hardly.
“If the only prayer you ever said was, ‘Thank you.’ that would be enough.” - Meister Eckhart
God will view your prayers with greater reverence when you acknowledge that you have already been given the power to choose. Stop asking God to give you a great relationship. Instead, choose to thank God for a love relationship that transcends your own imagination, then do whatever you can to help it turn out that way.
It’s up to you to do. Take whatever steps are necessary to accomplish what you want. Do at least one thing everyday towards accomplishing what you have thanked God for. Make a call, attend a seminar; do whatever it takes.
Thank God every day for guidance. Listen to the still small voice within. When you respond to what you “hear,” the rewards are often more than you ever expected. Listen to your heart. It always tells you the truth.
In the past we have asked for a great relationship, never received it, and never bothered to do anything differently and wondered why God didn’t answer our prayer. Hopefully, we have learned that lesson by now. That’s like asking God for a great job and never going to look for one. Excuse me! I don’t believe that’s what God had in mind. We must be thankful and do something.
Being thankful for the relationships you already have is one of the keys to attracting the relationships you want. Cultivate the practice of affirmative prayer. An attitude of gratitude is faith in action. It is a very satisfying feeling to know that what you are thankful for, you will experience. What you focus on, manifests.
A grateful prayer begins the creation process. Let go of the “wanting” of it and focus on what it feels like to have what you desire.
Someone once said, “Pray without ceasing.” God hears your quiet thoughts too. Another good reason for keeping your thoughts focused on what you desire. Thinking positive is a good thing. Caution: Negative prayer (or thought) works too.
Saying a prayer of thanksgiving has you focus on the good things that are happening to you and the good things that are about to happen to you. That alone may be a good enough reason to only pray a prayer of thanksgiving. It creates a thirst for more of the good that God says is already yours. Think about it. You get what you really believe.
Is it true that when something bad happens we tend to not want to take responsibility that the bad we see is what we created? Not taking responsibility means we try to find someone outside of ourselves to blame. When we ask God for things and the things don’t come, who do we blame? When we blame God for not answering prayer, our love for God becomes conditional. There is no room for blame in an unconditional love relationship.
“Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie, author, “Codependent No More“
How can we justify loving Him conditionally when we, in our self-serving arrogance, resist believing that our misfortune is our own fault?
God always answers prayer. Always. It may not be the answer you want but he always answers.
Can we look at ourselves in the mirror, take complete responsibility for our relationships and all areas of our lives, and know that we do have choice and we do create our own reality? As within, so without. Consider saying ‘yes’ to prayers of self-discovery and thanksgiving and experience the miracle of good that God has already given to you. Then get busy and do something different. Change your thinking and your behavior and you will change your life!
Pray to know God. Thank Him for being there for you. Be grateful for the gift of constant and faithful devotion He has given to help you get to know Him better. Pray to thank God for His abundance. Let Him know how grateful you are for the relationships in your life. Offer thanks for your present circumstance, regardless of what you think or feel about it. Thank Him for the lessons of good you learn from the things you often call bad. Thank Him for the tears of joy and the tears of sadness.
Be grateful for your abiltity to create an attitude of receptivity. Thank Him for more love, courage and understanding. Express gratitude for the everyday miracles that occur that you often take for granted. Be grateful for the power of choice. Thank God for creating the possibility of unconditional love and for the self-discipline to stay on that path. Thank Him for the opportunity to express gratitude. Be thankful for all that God has freely given.
Now. . . receive it!
Whatever you want in your relationships. . . wants you! Thank God for that, too!
“To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.” - Oswald Chambers
Read a special thought and prayer about gratitude from Rev. Richard Rogers.
Your thoughts?
Copyright © 2007 - Larry James. Adapted from the book, “How to Really Love the One You’re With.” Subscribe to Larry’s FREE monthly “LoveNotes for Lovers” eZINE.
NOTE: All articles listed in this BLOG are available for reprint in magazines, periodicals, newsletters, newspapers, eZINEs, on the Internet or on your own Website. Click here for details.
