Thankful Destination

A basic law of snow skiing is that you go in the direction you look. Likewise, race car drivers know that when they are racing at speed next to a wall, they never look at the wall, unless they want to become part of it. Our minds work in a very similar way; we go where we focus. Effective focusing demands conscious, intentional purpose.

My experience has been that when I am clear on what I want, it becomes possible for me to train myself to think and take action that will get me there. If I want to live in love, I must train myself to see the love around me and practice the action in loving what I am currently experiencing.  Just like when I drive a car, I know that it is necessary for me to look ahead to where I want to go rather than looking at the hood of my car; I know that for me to have the experience I choose I must look to the experience and not the immediate form before me.

I want to live a life of gratitude, not just now at Thanksgiving, but always.  In order to live this way it is important that I set my focus on living in thankfulness, so today I choose to set an intention to be grateful. Once set, I turn my mind’s eye to everything in my life that I give thanks for and, above all else, I commit to maintain that focus. This means that I do not look away from that even though it seems a reasonable thing to do.

I know what want and I will not be redirected by a whim, fancy or fearful misdirection. I bring into being gratitude by living in and from it.