Counting the Good in Your Life
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” –Willie Nelson
We were born with two incredible freedoms: the freedom of will and the freedom of choice. When we learn how to use these freedoms in our lives, we can guide, direct, and select precisely what we will have and what we will set aside.
Accomplishments Comprise the Good in Our Life
Because of the phenomenal accomplishments made in our lifetime, because of the exponential growth of technology, because of the enormity of personal wealth, we may think that if we haven’t manifested extraordinary success, we have nothing to call good in our life.
I beg to disagree. The accomplishment of all big things is composed of hundreds of thousands of small accomplishments, every one of which was a crucial piece that contributed to the big one. I urge you to count the good in your life beginning with its smallest pieces. Here: let me give you a few examples.
Some of the Good We Do Every Day
You can breathe in and out. Now that may seem silly, but imagine the alternative! Aliveness is so wonderful all by itself. Life is such a blessing.
You can see. Observe the beauty in nature, the thrill of a powerful rainstorm, the sweetness of a newborn child, your bi-monthly paycheck, the gasoline going into your car. You can watch the sun come up and then set in the evening. How lucky you are.
You can feel. Feel the crispness of clean sheets on your bed and the sun warming your skin and scalp. You can feel the breeze blowing your hair back off your face, and the softness of our child’s hand holding ours. We can sense our food digesting in our belly, and if someone is looking at us in a crowd. You can feel who’s calling you when the phone rings. Feeling is such a valuable sense.
More of the Good for which to Be Grateful
You have enough. You have somewhere to sleep, clothing to wear, food to eat; friends who care about you, a job to perform, a spouse who loves you, a sun to light the day, and a moon to light the night. We also have fresh air to breathe, movies to watch, and music to listen to. If all this isn’t enough, we can create more
We can exercise choices. We get to choose whether to get out of bed, choose what to eat, and what clothes to wear. The radio station is often our choice. We choose who our friends are and which one to designate “best.” When something is no longer preferable, we choose what will replace it. This includes what kind of car we drive, who we marry, and how many children we have. You have millions of choices to make across the years of your life.
Our Life Lessons are Part of the Good
You learn from your mistakes. See clearly that “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” and no one else. You recognize that life’s problems are blessings in disguise. When we change our focus from blaming another and assume responsibility, we begin to learn from our problems. We begin to make choices and carve out new ways of being. You have survived all your problems.
Today, your life is safe. You may have made it through war as I did. We no longer have to fear being bombed today, or shot at, or arrested. You carry along your confidence and esteem and they make you feel safe. With a stable environment, our drive to and from work is safe. Your house is safe, as are our friends. We live by our values, boundaries, and our sense of self. Imagine not having this wealth?
Dreams and Health to Carry Us Through
Your dreams carry you beyond today. No matter how far you’ve come, how much you’ve accomplished, and how much you must enjoy, there is always more. You aren’t grasping or greedy about getting more, but you are aware that it’s there if and when you want some. We allow our dreams to arise knowing we can make them manifest and come true, and you have the talent, the knowledge, the ambition and the will to have what you want.
You are healthy. And you might not know this bit I’m about to share with you, but please consider it: You are healthy at your core. It is your nature to be healthy. How can you be sure? If you manifest sickness, the first instinct is to return to health, because health is your norm. It’s always in there waiting for you to return.
Is There More Good to Consider?
There is a great deal more to add to our “My Life is Good” list. Oh, here’s another one: you can read this. You’ve got a lot more going for you than lots of other folks, so be grateful.
