When you are able to be grateful for what you do have, then you squash out the fear of not having enough. You free yourself to live happily, and ultimately that will open doors for you. Fear has a way of immobilizing you on the road to success. On the other hand, gratitude allows you to celebrate the gifts you have been given and build on them. You can move forward with a positive attitude and live abundantly today.
DAY
352
“The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car . . . a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.”
— Ben Sweetland
What do you expect to get out of life today? Do you expect abundance in real time, or are you waiting for it to show up some day down the road? Write in your journal about your daily expectations, and answer those two questions as honestly as you can. Are you walking up to the fountain of life with a teaspoon, or are you backing a steam shovel up to it? When you see opportunity in plain clothes on an average day, do you ignore it? Do you only siphon off a small portion for now and assume you will take more later? Why do you make that choice?
Abundance is all around you on an ordinary day. You may be sitting on the curved edge of a fountain waiting for a big rainstorm of opportunity, but right behind you is a continual flow of abundance that you can be drawing from constantly. Did you notice it? Why aren’t you drinking from the fountain of life at this very moment?
Expectations can be self-fulfilling prophesies. If you expect only a little bit out of life, then that is exactly what you will get. Practice changing your view today. Look around you and notice a world that is full of abundance and opportunities. You basically have two choices. You can concentrate on the things that limit you, or you can concentrate on the opportunities that are plentiful and within reach. Which one of those choices will lead you to achieving your dreams?
DAY
353
“Expect your every need to be met. Expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level.”
— Eileen Caddy
Today you will have another opportunity to change your expectations. Your first task is to write in your journal about what you expect to happen today. Make a list of your expectations for the next twenty-four hours.
Now, take a look at that list. Are you aiming low, or do you have pretty lofty expectations? What did you write down? Your expectations for this day might be a laundry list of mundane tasks that you hope to accomplish: pick the kids up from school, go to the gym, finish the laundry, get the tires rotated, attend a mandatory meeting at work . . . boring! What would happen to your outlook if you added something fun to your list? Today I wilclass="underline" start a new book; plan an impromptu date night with my spouse; take the day off and go hiking just to spend some time meditating and surrounded by nature; take the kids to a movie after school. Puts a little spring in your step, doesn’t it?
If you don’t plan for abundance, it’s not going to happen. Expect it. Put it on your to-do list. If you expect to be baffled by life today, then you will be. If you expect to be frustrated at work, it’ll happen. If you expect to be annoyed by the guy next door who goes to get his newspaper in his underwear, chances are you will be.
Take charge right now. Alter your expectations. Expect to come across new opportunities to be happy. Plan for an abundant life—today!
DAY
354
“Life is a lottery that we’ve already won. But most people have not cashed in their tickets.”
— Louise L. Hay
First there was the flashing red light, then the endless sound of falling coins. Bells and whistles started going off everywhere, and people gathered around. Curt stared at the machine. He had been going to Las Vegas once a year for the last twenty years, and in the past he always walked away a loser. He never lost more than a hundred dollars. It was just fun to play. He didn’t expect much more than that. Sometimes he was up fifty dollars or so, and that was when he should have quit, because he always ended up losing it again. It was just the way it went. Nevertheless, he enjoyed pulling the lever on the slot machine and tasting that far-off, elusive chance for big money.
Now, here he was—a winner! One magic pull on the right machine and he was a millionaire! It happened. He won the lottery. People were patting him on the back, and a smiling casino employee wrote him a ticket to redeem at the cashier’s booth. He won. Curt stood up shakily, put the ticket in his pocket, and shuffled out of the casino without redeeming it.
What?!
No one in their right mind would do that!
Actually, many of us do just that every day. Life is a lottery you have already won. You are incredibly lucky to be here and take part in this crazy play. Have you cashed in your ticket yet?
DAY
355
“Life in abundance comes only through great love.”
— Elbert Hubbard
For the last several days you’ve read about abundance and how you can have it right now, but most of us don’t take advantage of the opportunities that will lead us to an abundant life. You could be living abundantly today, so what are you waiting for?
I don’t know. You may be thinking. “Fine. I’ll stop waiting and go for it. Sign me up. How do I start?”
You need one very important ingredient in order to live life in abundance, and that is love. Abundance is easy to obtain, but it’s not exactly free. You have to willingly give of yourself in order to see abundance flow back to you. There’s always a catch, isn’t there?
This catch is a wonderful surprise, though. You will get back so much more than you give. If you practice great love for everyone around you, you will see incredible abundance flowing your way—and not just in the form of hugs and nice words. Don’t worry. You don’t have to go out and hug that annoying neighbor who always gets his newspaper in his underwear. That would be creepy. You could practice tolerance and let the guy do his own thing without plastering unflattering pictures of him on the Internet, though.
You must look for ways in which you can enrich the lives of others. What can you do to make someone’s day better? Practice bringing your talents to the table and sharing them. Take action all the time, and make sure that it is not only for your own benefit. This is not a one-day experiment. Practice great love for those around you, and you will be rewarded with an abundant life.
DAY
356
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”