Tony Mase here with an article (below) I think you'll really enjoy...
With the thought of Thanksgiving Day being right around the corner here in the United States, I'm reminded of a simple, yet *extremely* valuable lesson I learned about gratitude from a five-year-old.
In this article, I'll share it with you.
Enjoy! :-)
To your success,
Tony
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What a 5-Year-Old Taught Me About Gratitude
- by Tony Mase
© Tony Mase - All Rights Reserved
http://www.constructivescience.com
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One beautiful summer day, shortly before he started kindergarten, my son, who was five-years-old at the time, and I were driving somewhere (more than likely a toy store :-)), when, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked me what I knew about this "God thing", as he phrased it.
As simply as I could put it, I shared with him my personal belief...
Essentially...
That One is All and All is One. That one Intelligent Substance manifests itself as what appears to be many elements of the material world.
Simply put...
We're all made from the same Stuff, a Thinking Stuff.
After I finished my simplified explanation of this concept, he sat there quietly for a moment or two, staring out the car window, then he looked at me and said...
"Daddy, that makes sense!"
And...
With "ah-ha" written all over his face...
He added...
"So that's why you're always telling me to love my neighbor as myself and to treat other people the way I want to be treated, because we're all one, right Daddy?"
At age five...
He got it! :-)
Not long after our "God talk", as he likes to refer to it, impressed by his insight and "feeling my oats", I guess, I decided to tackle a very simplified version of the concept of gratitude to the Formless (the one Intelligent Substance from which all things are made), the importance of expressing gratitude to the Formless, and the various ways in which we might express our gratitude to the Formless, with him.
As I was enthusiastically waning on and on (I guess I got a little carried away :-)) about how to express gratitude to the Formless, he sat there with a puzzled look on his face (okay, actually it was his "you idiot" look :-)).
Finally...
Obviously unable to take it anymore...
He piped up and said...
"Daddy..."
"Since we're all made from the same stuff, isn't saying thank you to someone else the same thing as saying thank you to the stuff?"
Hmmmmmm...
Hmmm...
Hmmm...
Hmmm...
Out of the mouths of babes. :-)
You know what?
He was absolutely right!
I frequently see folks going to great lengths in their effort to develop and incorporate an "attitude of gratitude", as Wallace D. Wattles put it so well in his classic masterpiece The Science of Getting Rich, into their lives, lugging around special gratitude crystals, rocks, or stones, keeping special gratitude journals, and/or resorting to all sorts of other "props and crutches" as I like to refer to them, when *all* that's *really* required is developing the simple habit of saying "thank you".
I believe it was Meister Eckhart, the influential fourteenth century German theologian, philosopher, and mystic, who once wrote:
"If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is 'thank you,' that would suffice."
No doubt about it!
And...
As I learned from my five-year-old...
We can continuously express that prayer of gratitude to the Supreme, for *all* we have and enjoy, by simply developing the habit of consistently saying "thank you" to one another.
Once again...
Thank you son! :-)
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Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D. Wattles and the publisher of The Science of Abundant Life ebook by Wallace D. Wattles...
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The Science of Abundant Life by Wallace D. Wattles
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles together
with Wallace D. Wattles' The Science of Being Well, The
Science of Being Great, How to Promote Yourself, The New
Science of Living and Healing and Hell-fire Harrison.
Click Here => http://www.thescienceofabundantlife.com
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Hi,
Yours sons powerful insight into the nature of oneness provoked me to thinking that when we are exhorted to express gratitude for the `good` should we not also express gratitude for the `bad` as are they both not part of the `one` too. Can we really split split good/bad if oneness is true, and if we do are we not saying that because we don`t like something or have judged it bad that our small lower selves know better than the formless.
Just a thought re `Love your neighbour as yourself and treat him like you would want to be treated. WHAT IF....the neighbour does not want to be treated like we treat ourselves and WHAT IF..... we are in the habit of not treating ourselves very well but think we are??
Best wishes to everyone
Posted by: Jane | November 26, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Hi,
I find your son's comment very cute and enlightened for his young age.
But I would like to comment on what you say about people making appreciation/gratitude lists. I find it personally a very good idea, simply because we often tend to forget all our blessings and keep focusing more on the things that we are after, instead of what we already have. So writing gratitude lists is a way of reminding ourselves of our health, wealth, success, happiness, or whatever other gift life has blessed us with so far.
Posted by: Ismini Apostoli | November 26, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Hi Jane,
> Can we really split split good/bad if oneness is true, and if we do are we not saying that because we don`t like something or have judged it bad that our small lower selves know better than the formless.
You're absolutely correct...
The truth is there is no "good" or "bad"...
There just *IS*!
"Good" and "bad" are really nothing more than labels *we* attach to "things".
> WHAT IF....the neighbour does not want to be treated like we treat ourselves and WHAT IF..... we are in the habit of not treating ourselves very well but think we are??
That one's a bit to "heady" for me. :-)
Best wishes to you as well...
Thank you for your comment!
Tony
Posted by: Tony Mase | December 05, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Hi Ismini,
There's absolutely nothing "wrong" with making a list of things you're grateful for...
I do it myself from time to time. :-)
It's a great way to "re-focus" and put your life in constructive perspective.
However...
My point is that...
Developing an "attitude of gratitude" need not be a "big deal" requiring all sorts of special "tools"...
It can start with something as simple as saying "thank you" to one another.
Speaking of which...
Thank you for your comment! :-)
Tony
Posted by: Tony Mase | December 05, 2008 at 01:29 PM