“Did you sleep inside last night?”
That’s the comment you hear when you complain about anything to my friend, Stan.
I would not consider myself a religious person. So it was rather unusual that there was an ol’ time religion preacher program on my TV last Sunday.
I had left the set on while I was doing other things in the house and when I returned to the living room, there he was.
As I hurried to change the channel so I would not miss Meet The Press, I heard him say.
YOU WOULD FEEL MUCH HAPPIER IF YOU SAID OUT LOUD SIX THINGS YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR EVERY MORNING.
Not a new idea. But OUT LOUD?
I’ve been doing it. I feel good. So, I thought I’d pass the idea on to you.
This is what I am grateful for today. I am saying them out loud as I write this.
1. I am gratful that my children and grandchildren are all healthy.
2. I am grateful that I have never been in a hospital for an illness.
3. I am grateful for my modest house which is very cozy and pretty.
4. I am grateful that all my kids have a job.
5. I am grateful I have saved enough money to ride out this recession.
6. I am grateful for my sister June who is my closest friend.
There are lots more I could add, like good friends, nice neighbors, a large , loving, extended family – I am grateful for the Internet which has been a companion this harsh winter – but he said to say six. If I had to do more, I probably would not keep to it.
And it goes without saying -
When you see the sad newscasts about the homeless and the tent cities -
Yes, Stan -
I am grateful I slept inside last night.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Corinne, I try not to miss Joel Osteen, he is so upbeat,
he smiles all through his sermon, he always lifts me up.I will
try tomorrow morning to say out loud 6 things I’m grateful
for, and let you know how it came out. Thank you for the
beautiful music you sent. Love, Louise (If I mispelled
anything, blame my cataracts, due to come out in April)
Dear Corinne,
This is wonderful. For the past year, myself and four other women have been sending each other our “10 gratitudes” and “10 intentions” every day of the week. Then a friend gave me Louise Hay’s calendar and I started including the “Hay for the Day”. This activity has had a wonderful impact on my life and it is such a simple thing. Now I am going to ask our members to read them aloud as they type them.
What I really want to tell you though, is how much I love your book. I bought it because I was so proud of you for producing it and I wanted to have it. I knew it would be good but the real surprise is how inspirational and helpful it has been in unusual circumstances.
I have been asked to speak about how to be a great assistant and I feel that your book has given me a whole new light to shine. I will be recommending that they buy it, get it on their computer and refer to it often.
I will go to that article and leave a message there also. Thanks again for the light you spread with your love for all of us. I feel it given freely in your blog and your book is a wonderful extension of that love in a focused area.
Please keep writing
Sharon beck
Sharon Becks last blog post..THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!!!!!
“DID you sleep in side last night?” First time I heard it from you, I cracked up.
I saw a bumper sticker that really made me (and my cab driver who saw it first) almost sick with laughter for about a mile.
“SINCE I GAVE UP HOPE –
I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER” …
I am grateful for my laughter – I am laughing more now than ever …
This mess seems like a big cosmic joke.
I am grateful for this blog and your wisdom.
Dear Lily Rose -
Of course, I cannot take credit for that quote. Stan would be annoyed. It is his.
I LOVE this bumpersticker -
“SINCE I GAVE UP HOPE -
I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER” …
Maybe that is the REAL secret.
Keep laughing!
We are grateful for you, Lily Rose.
Hi Sharon -
I have met Louise Hay several times. Even shared a stage with her once. I was honored.
She is as wonderful and sincere as her writings.
Sounds like you already have a start on the gratitude routine. I don’t know why the “out loud” part works. Maybe it resonates in our brain better – or to the Universe!
Good luck on your speech. Let me know if I can help in any way.
And thanks for promoting my book. I purposely priced it low so that people would take a chance and read it.
There is a lot of my experience in it!
Dear Louise -
I also have watched Joel Osteen and find him inspiring. I like the way he approaches life in such a practical and hopeful way.
Good luck with your surgery. It will make such a difference in your life. My sister had it and she said she had no idea what she wasn’t seeing for so long!
Saying out loud the six or more of our blessings underscores our gratidue. We can say them to our selves, but saying them out loud provides an extra thrust or accent. When we go to church we say our prayers out loud and in unison. We could just as well say those prayers in silence to ourselves. But no! We say them out loud. Ever ask yourself why?
Reed, you have made such an excellent point there. We do say our prayers out loud in church.
Perhaps it has a double impact – thinking them silently and saying them out loud.
Maybe INFINITE INTELLIGENCE (God or whatever you call that Energy)pays more attention. You think?
Or, at least we do!
I’m grateful my parents are alive and helping me through this tough time
robert mairs last blog post..Jury Duty: A rewarding responsibility
Corinne,
I have my students read there notes and study material out loud. You use your sense of hearing and ability to speak, which stimulates more parts of your brain and embeds things into it in multiple ways.
Maybe by praying and saying what we are grateful for out loud lets God know we mean it enough to use more of our brain power?
Just a theory,
Sherri
Being the Change I Wish to See – Sherris last blog post..Statesmen Needed–Not Politicians
Hi Sherri -
Liked this comment!
“Maybe by praying and saying what we are grateful for out loud lets God know we mean it enough to use more of our brain power?”
I’m going to start saying my gratitude list LOUDER!
Thee have been many studies on children and learning that agree with your procedure of having your students study material out loud.
As usual, you are at the head of the pack!
Hi Robert -
That’s what parents do. Hope thing improve for you rapidly!
Joel Osteen’s a good one. You’ll have to watch him again. Peace and God Bless…
I’d forgotten about this post. Isn’t that what praying is all about? Out loud. OK. Going to start right now. Grateful for the little things but also the big things. Like my life, Health, Friendship. thank as always.
Dear Michelle -
OUT LOUD seemed to be the operative term here. It focuses us on what we want when we hear it.
I had a client the other day who said -
“How do I know what I think if I don’t say it out loud?”