Daily Inspiration 1-26-17

"As I express my gratitude, 

I become more deeply aware of it. 

And the greater my awareness, 

the greater my need to express it." 

-- Br. David Steindl-Rast 

Perhaps the best questions that one could ever ask: What do I want? Would I prefer to feel good, or not that? Do I have any control of my life, really?

The answer to the last one is, absolutely. No one else does. Though we sometimes think we can't control our life, this isn't true, and only because no one else can think our thoughts for us. There is no doubt that many may try to influence or even manipulate, but we are the final authority and the final security in whether that is accepted or rejected.

The main reason that we may often feel as if our life is not controlled by us is that we are allowing our ego to rule. Though the ego is a wonderful tool as a helper in selected situations, it is an extremely poor manager. It reminds me of good salespeople promoted to manager and failing miserably. They aren't the same job only higher up, they are completely different kinds of jobs. The ego, if allowed to rule, will lead us astray and then justify that in every conceivable way.

The other reason is that we are on auto-pilot. We let our self-talk and thoughts just ramble without any awareness of what is really going on. In this we are open to almost any input and so we go here and there and all over the map reacting to all manner of things that go on around us in person and in the media.

So, answering the first questions, what do I want? and would I prefer to feel good, or not that? is critical. Once the decision is made, the direction is clearer. If the choice is that it doesn't matter if I feel good or not, then life is whatever it is and though ultimately I do control it, I am not accepting that and so it is on auto-pilot. What comes, comes.

Choosing that I want to feel good is the point of change to feel better, and better, and better. Once we have this awareness, we see the world around us differently. Instead of bad guys lurking in the shadows, we see light, beauty, strength, calm, joy. We immediately begin appreciating, and as we appreciate, we cannot help but be grateful, and that point of attraction, brings us more to appreciate and be grateful for.

It's as simple as this to change our lives for the better. I decide that I want to feel good and so I look for things that help me to feel good. As I am feeling good, I am attracting more things, people, circumstances to feel good about.

One would think that I could go back to auto-pilot anytime I want--back to the "normal" way of life. Yet, I cannot. Once I have opened my eyes and have seen, I have seen, and I cannot un-see. I can stay where I have grown to, but I cannot go back to what I was.


Appreciation And Gratitude Leads Me To A Higher Place. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by opening the door to your awareness of all of the joy that is within and all around you. This is what it is to be in joy.