Day 304: Pick Up the Penny
Every little positive thought or action compounds over time and they all add up to make us happier and living from a higher vibrational frequency. And that brings us more of what we want.
I love this example from Wayne Dyer. I learned it from one of his books more than 40 years ago. He always stopped to pick up a penny. He saw it as a reminder of abundance. So he showed gratitude for it and would thank God for everything, every time he picked one up.
He never asked, "Only a penny?" He'd just say thank you for everything he had in his life and everything that was on its way.
He also said, " Everything you are currently against blocks your abundance."
That's the flip side. That would be the person who asks why only a penny. All the way up to things we dislike, complain about, actively show our disdain for, or worse, things we hate.
We get to choose which side of the coin we want to live on.
One keeps us spiraling higher as good things bring more good things, and the other does the opposite.
Focusing on what we are against brings that experience and things with the same vibration closer to us. We are actively pulling it into our lives by our thoughts and beliefs that are our emotional set point.
What we continually give our attention to affects how we feel, what we notice, and the choices we make. And when we make appreciation a habit, we begin recognizing more of the good that's already part of our lives.
It's a choice.
Appreciating is a much better feeling than condemning.
And one of the things I don't think we pay enough attention to is that it seems to be so much easier to look at what we've done in terms of what still needs to be done or what we didn't accomplish instead of being proud of what we did or how far we got.
And this doesn't just apply to money or the things we'd like to have. It also applies to how we look at ourselves and what we've accomplished. We can make enormous progress and still dismiss the whole experience because we didn't reach the exact outcome we had in mind.
Last night I was watching Survivor, and a tribe of only 3 people who had grown very close had to vote one person out. Two of them had bonded on day one, so it was clear who would go.
It was painful to watch because it was clear it wasn't a decision they wanted to make. And the person who was being voted out said he had failed because he came there to win and be able to retire his mom. He cried when he talked about it.
Then Jeff, the host, talked to him about the fact that if he wanted to look at it that way, everyone loses except one person. The minute they get off the boat, they are losers.
The beauty of Survivor is who you become on your journey, however long it is.
And after 51 seasons, Jeff has seen the power of this game to change who people are, whether it happens while they are there or they realize it when they get back home and watch it on TV.
Of course he was disappointed. He'd gone there with a dream of doing something wonderful for his mother, and that dream mattered to him. But losing the game didn't erase everything he'd experienced, learned, and accomplished while he was there.
People have completely changed the way they move in the world after this experience, and yet when they are voted out, all many of them see is failure.
We tend to do that with small things, all the way up to major accomplishments we don't give ourselves credit for because we didn't reach the pinnacle we envisioned.
Don't block your abundance by focusing on what you're against or what's missing.
Pick up the penny. Say thank you. Recognize all of your accomplishments.
I'll leave you with one more thought to ponder.
A Course in Miracles says, "Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward."
In every moment, with every thought, we're making the choice of what our state is.
We have so many opportunities throughout the day to decide what we're going to notice, appreciate, and give our attention to.
And those little choices add up to the way we experience our lives.
Today's Gentle Practice
Today, notice something you would normally overlook or dismiss because it seems too small to matter.
It might be something you've accomplished, a kindness someone showed you, or a little pleasure in your everyday life.
Ask yourself:
What am I overlooking because I've been paying more attention to what's missing?
Give yourself a moment to appreciate what's already there.
And if you happen to find a penny, pick it up.
With you,
Lynn
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