Has the remote of your soul ever been stuck on the self-pity channel?

Mine has. Seattle sun shimmers like a jewel in my grandmother’s jewelry box. The fingerprints of God saturates the glorious Northwest landscape, as Mount Rainier stands tall. She bows in the symphony of splendor as the trees march up her sides into the blue streams of sky.

Then, usually  all at once, the darkness shrouds her magnificence. She sleeps under the covers of soggy gray clouds, crying herself to sleep.

And you wondered why Seattleites drink oceans of coffee.

The darkness engulfs our spirits at times, and we can get stuck on the self-pity channel of life.

During those times, I spill out my feelings. To safe people, to paper, and to God, who hears my heart.

Then I boldly change the channel of my soul to the gratitude channel.

I focus on giving thanks. As deep in my essence I know I am beyond blessed.

Think you are poor? Most of the world lives on less than two dollars a day.

Wish you lived somewhere else? Paradise resides on the other side of glory, not on Maui. I know as I lived there. (My book tells the story.)

Wish you had someone else’s shoes? Talk to the man who has none.

Wish you looked like someone else? Think again. Sometimes beauty is a beast. I know, as I’ve heard their souls cry tidal waves of tears in my office.

Wish you were worth more? How would you truly know who your real friends are?  I know as I’ve listened to their hearts drip droplets of despair. And besides – if you understood your real worth, you would faint.

Wish you had someone else’s wife, husband, or soul-mate? Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But usually it’s Astro-turf. The lawn grows lush where you nurture the seedlings.

So change channels, grasping tightly to the cadence of gratitude. Your heart will spill over with refreshment, like a grassy meadow weaving its beauty into your life story.

And you will be forever changed.~