Lists of Love

"Gratitude is the great multiplier, so say thank you for your health every single day."

"Every single second is an opportunity to change your life, because in any moment you can change the way you feel."

"Life isn't happening to you; life is responding to you."

Rhonda Byrne, The Power

Today I was reading The Power by Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret.  One of the things she suggests is to make a list of all the things you love.  I love many things, but they come in different categories.  First there are people, things or ideas that I love and cannot imagine being without.  Then there are people, things and ideas that I greatly enjoy and am grateful to have currently.  Then there are those people, things and ideas that were once part of my life and have made me who I am today.

Here is the first group, the people, things and ideas that I cannot imagine being without:

·      God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit

·      My children

·      Lilies

·      My house on the beach

·      My job

·      The people I work for and with

·      My health

·      My mother

·      My closest friends and family members

·      Freedom

·      Books

·      Studying

Here is the second group, people, things and ideas that I greatly enjoy and am grateful to have currently:

·      My hobbies

·      My car

·      My computer

·      Facebook

·      Writing resumes

Finally, here are the people, things and ideas from my past that have made me who I am today:

·      Places I have lived

·      Opportunities I have had to serve others

·      People who hired me and mentored me

I realize these lists may be personal and probably of little interest to anyone else (initially I wrote things that were very specific to my life), but the principle still good:  love what is and what was good in life.  I have been very fortunate to have so much good in my life.  I realize I could focus much more of my thinking in a positive way.  In fact, while reading this book, I realize how much negativity unconsciously pervades my thoughts.  Another book by Rhonda Byrne, The Magic, talks about the power of gratitude.  And if love and gratitude isn’t the same thing, they are very closely related. 

So not only do I love everything else on the lists above, I am grateful for them.  I’ve said it before:  I’ve had a very blessed life.  I’m done a lot, seen a lot and met a lot of people.  I’ve been fortunate to have seen many places and have made many, many friends.  I’m fortunate to have the temperament I have and the history I’ve had.  I’m blessed on many, many levels and the only things I want are to Get Started and Keep Going…and never forget my blessings.