Inspiration: What If…

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving” Kahlil Gibran

Inspiration: What If... Be a blessing to all...

A few days ago, I was reading a blog post by blog buddy Jane of PlaneJaner.com, when I came across the following question: What if you woke up this morning with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? It had me thinking about how well or poorly we express our gratitude or thankfulness for everything. If I go to bed thankful for the blessings of today and the promise of tomorrow and include all in this prayer, then, I’d have nothing to fear or worry. But how often do we end our busy day with an inclusive thank you? What do we include or exclude? Do we even think about the fact that each day we have breath is a blessing worthy of praise and gratitude?

A Mother’s Love: A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said: For cutting the grass: $5.00; For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00; For going to the store for you: $.50;Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25; Taking out the garbage: $1.00; For getting a good report card: $5.00; For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00; Total owed: $14.75
Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he’d written on, and this is what she wrote: For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge; For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge; For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused through the years: No Charge; For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge; For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge; Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.
When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.” And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: “PAID IN FULL”.

Imagine going to bed with certain thoughts and ideas about our life, our future, and who we’d like to see in it, and then ka boom… we wake up in the morning to a new reality populated by the things we imagined in our dreams and wishes. I don’t like to take anything for granted, so my prayer would be to go to bed thankful for everyone and everything that sustains this planet, and wake up with same. What do you do to express your gratitude for people’s grace? Below is another story; it’s about Happiness.

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”  Epictetus

Inspiration: What If... Be thankful for everyone and everything...

What is Happiness?: The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, has moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”
She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.” And with a smile, she said: “Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less.”

The story above is a reminder that our attitude can make a tremendous difference, not only on our perspective about life, but also on our outcome. It is best to be thankful without reservation so we won’t regret what we inadvertently left out… We can’t afford to be the unfortunate recipient of a what if…that left anyone out.  Have a Happy July 4th Holiday! What about you? What are your thoughts? What are you thankful for? Do you find yourself forgetting to be happy about what is before you? Do share! Thank you. 😉

Positive Motivation Tip: Be thankful for everyone and everything everyday… that way we never leave anything off our gratitude list.

Related articles

• Gratitude: Ten Reasons For A Grateful Heart & Blog Awards… (eof737.wordpress.com)
• Thoughts on Thankfulness: Part 1 (dankasworld.wordpress.com)
• >gratitude (southerngoddess.wordpress.com)

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Isaac&Jacob blessing and bouquet of flowers via Wikipedia. Stories: A Mother’s Love and What is Happiness? via Inspire me.net.  No Charge song via YouTube

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet