by Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name...
— I Chronicles 16:8
An attitude of gratitude is most salutary, and bespeaks
the realization that we are now in heaven.
— The Science of Mind, page 497
Concentrating On What Is
Ernest Holmes tells us that praying without ceasing means to be always on the affirmative side of life, to doubt never, and to always trust in the Law of Good. He goes on to say that “gratitude is one of the chief graces of human existence.”
At the 1996 Olympic Games, I was deeply moved by the courage, discipline and dedication of all the athletes. But I was particularly inspired by an interview of Gary Hall who had just lost the 100-meter free style by seven-hundredths of a second. Gwen Torrance said to him, “I bet you’re sad that you missed the gold.” Gary responded, “On the contrary! I’m getting closer! I’m so grateful to be representing the United States and to be up on the podium getting the silver!“ Gary was concentrating on what is and not on what is not! He never looked at his experience as though he had lost anything, rather, he was grateful that he was getting closer to perfecting his art.
What an inspiration! How often do we expend our energies bemoaning what we don’t have, or what we could have had, instead of feeling profound gratitude for what we do have? So, let us look at every experience of our life as an enormous success and be grateful.
Today I claim the gold in all my experiences. I am grateful for waking up this morning, for meeting everyone with love in my heart, for the opportunity to grow and change, and for being an expression of God in everything I do.
