Be Grateful For What Is Yet To Come

I was mesmerized by magicians when I was growing up.  Seeing them pull rabbits out of a hat, or seeing them make things disappear and then reappear again, boy, was that exciting.  To this day, many years later, it still bring a smile to my face just thinking about it.

But one of the magic tricks that always got me going was when the magician could predict what was going to happen in the future.  It was always done with lots of pizzaz and drama. Even simple things, tricks like which card you were going to pick or what number you were going to be thinking of, that type of stuff, got me excited.  I remember wondering, out loud, how did they do those things? 

I still can't figure out most of it. 

 

So what does all of this have to do with being grateful for what is yet to come? 

We're not all magicians, are we?  We don't really know what is going to happen to us or around us ahead of time.  Frankly, life probably would not be very exciting if we could, would it?

Can you imagine . . .

Knowing the lottery numbers a day early . . .

Knowing where an accident was going to occur so you could stop it . . .

Or, just knowing what the weather would be like the next day so you can look forward to it and be prepared for it?

Well, on the other hand, maybe these types of  things would all, in their own way, be pretty cool things to know ahead of time.

But it could work the other way as well . . .

Think about always knowing what your birthday gifts were ahead of time.  That might be interesting at first, but after a few times you may miss the excitement of opening that package and seeing that you actually got what you wanted!  There is something to be said about that little thrill. 

Remember when you were a child and you shook the package and listened to what is inside? 

Remember trying to guess what it was?

Sometimes, that anticipation was actually better than tearing it open and seeing what is really inside. 

 

Can you tell the future?

I often wondered what it would be like to have a crystal ball that could tell me these types of things.  Then I wonder, would I really want that information?  Or is life meant to be a little mysterious, just to keep it interesting? 

The answer to that question depends on the circumstances, and the people that information would affect. 

But whether we know what is coming our way or we don't, there is still something that we can do that is within all of our control:

We can be grateful for what is yet to come.

Gratefulness is an interesting emotion or feeling.  Many times we like to take the wait and see approach before being grateful for things in life. 

We wait to see if we like the gift we are getting before we are grateful for it . . .

We wait to see if someone shows us kindness before we are grateful to them . . .

We decide if the scenery is perfect before we are grateful for being able to see it . . .

We test love and friendship before we are grateful that it is even there for us . . .

But ask yourself, what should really come first?

Unfortunately, gratefulness, for the majority of us, tends to come after the fact.  We feel as though we have the right to wait and judge how we are going to react to what comes into our lives, before we are grateful for it. . 

And perhaps we do have that right, but is that really the best way to live?

 

Think about this . . .

What if gratefulness came before the act or things for which we are grateful? 

What would life be like in that type of situation? 

Does that even make any sense?

I think it does.  Here's why:

Many people think that gratefulness is something that we give to others, and in many situations it is.  But  when you think about it, gratefulness is really a gift that we give to ourselves not others. And the best part is, we control it in every single way!

How much we feel . . .

When we feel it . . .

Who we share it with . . .

When we stop feeling it . . .

It's all up to us, right?

 

Take this typical scenario:

When somebody gives us a gift, we are thankful for it and grateful for it (hopefully), but isn't that gratefulness something that we feel inside more than they do?

So why in the world would be so stingy to ourselves with such a wonderful gift? 

And why, if we control it, would we wait and make it contingent upon what others do or what circumstances we are presented with? 

It just doesn't make sense, does it? 

 

Why not feel good sooner than later? 

I know what the naysayers are thinking right now, because frankly I've been among them a lot of the time.  They are thinking that they don't want to be disappointed by getting excited or happy ahead of the time, right?

Well, I ask you, why not? 

Why not get happy now, before things happen?

Who are we protecting?  Ourselves?  And what are we protecting ourselves from?  A little extra joy and happiness? 

Why in the world would we want to do that?

 

Try a little experiment with me. 

The next time that you are wanting or anticipating something good coming into your life, think consciously about how you are going to feel about it before it gets there. 

Really think about it. 

Go through your options:

You can worry about whether it will come about . . .

You can agonize over whether it will be good enough . . .

You can stress over whether it will arrive in time . . .

You can be concerned over how it will come about . . .

You can hold off on feeling anything before it gets there . . .

OR . . .

You can be grateful for it before it even gets started.

Out of all of those choices, what do you think will make you feel better and happier, sooner. longer and deeper?

 

Be the magician!

In any situation like this you can be the magician. 

You can be the one with the crystal ball.

You can be the one to affect and control your happiness in not just your distant future, but in your present and near future as well. 

You can be the one that knows your future before anyone else and before it ever gets here, just by being grateful for things before they even arrive!.

Pretty neat stuff, huh?

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Your Friend,

Judge J.

The Humble Judge!