A few more words on gratitude pt1

In some previous posts I have mentioned that being grateful is an important part of being successful in life. Some recent real life experiences have caused me to do some more thinking along those lines.

We have been attempting to replace the lender placed insurance that we have had for the past several years with actual homeowner's insurance. I say attempting because this has been going on for the last four months.  There have been multiple roadblocks all along the way. We have always been polite and professional with the people over the phone, but once they were off the phone we were cursing the circumstance and wanting to take out our frustration on the customer service or insurance people.

Recently my point of view has changed and now things are moving along pretty smoothly. Some data even came up while working with the fourth insurance agent that looks like it is going to save us from needing to make a big up front out of pocket payment. This would not have happened if the first insurance agent months ago had been able to help us right away.

What caused this change? Essentially I realized that I was not showing an attitude of gratitude which I will explain shortly.

If you have read some of the other things that I have written, you probably already know that I believe very strongly in the power of positive/negative energy. What you say do and think creates a response from the universe. If what you say, do and think is positive the universe will bring you positive results. If what you say, do and think is negative the universe will bring you negative results. If you send out mixed messages the universe will bring you back mixed results.

Now about gratitude. It is easy to be grateful for the things that you have and you should be. That is awesome and positive and does tend to bring more good things to you. But what is even more powerful yet is being grateful for the things which you do not have as of yet. I know that may not make sense to you, but bear with me. Here is how it works.

First, you decide that you want something. Next you put into motion a plan to go about getting it. While you are working towards your goal, put forth your best effort in every step where your participation is required and live in faith that the thing that you are working towards will soon be yours. Be thankful as if that thing were already yours and imagine the things that you will be able to do once it is. This gratitude creates a sort of vacuum in the universe between the vision of what you want and what you have, pulling the two together until they become one.

Sometimes things do not always go according to plan though. And just today a new way of looking at obstacles has come to me. Imagine, if you will, any obstacle that comes up as the universe asking you if you are sure that this thing you envision is something that you really want. The way of saying yes it is what you want is to continue putting forth your best effort with faith that it is yours and gratitude as if it were already yours. The way of saying no is allowing your thoughts, words or deeds to become negative in any way shape or form.

Doing the latter halts all forward progress towards you and causes you to start the process of positive thinking all over. Every time you tell the universe that you do not want the things which you have asked for more and more obstacles will come up and those things will move further and further away.

Think about this. Some of the things in your vision will likely require less time and effort to achieve. Some of them will take more. And some that you think will take less end up taking more. But the fact of the matter is everything is going to take a certain amount of energy. Before you begin any process you do not know how much of each will be required. Let's say that instead of being you, you are the universe and the universe does know how much energy needs to go into each portion of your vision in order to see it realized.