Toni Stone
401 Buck Hollow Rd.
Fairfax, VT 05454
Feb. 20, 2000
“great truths and great actions don’t always come wrapped in perfect packages.”
-anonymous
Hardly Ever Exactly Like I Thought
when i was younger,
i worked hard and rushed around a lot to make things turn out the way i wanted them to..
but slowly i began to notice as i got older that things had a life of their own and
that they went that way, their own way!
my new job was to move myself around, and be happy with what i got…
i had to look at events and circumstances creatively….
look to see if what i wanted could be there after all.
the answer was always YES.
sometimes i had to look really hard,
but i could always see something
of what i wanted to see…
the wish to think that i t had to show up exactly like i thought i t would…
is really, i found, a demand to keep complaining.
recently, a man i know very well came home from a far-east trip with a group of over a hundred
people who were all guests of a generous institute. they had been invited and paid for,
in great part, for meals and lodging. as the conference continued, the generosity turned into
many magnanimities, box lunches and buffets were provided.
they were transported to conference sites at no personal charge..
even airport vehicles were free. he was constantly reporting a feeling of gratitude
and the on-going surprise of even more to be thankful for.
he came home with almost the exact amount of money he left with…
no one would accept a tip or gratuity anywhere.
on the airplane ride back to America, he noticed many of the same guests he had
seen at the events. they were provided for and looked after also, but on the ride back,
they were loudly complaining about the food and the accommodations. he was shocked.
later, in America, he was telling a small group of people all that had been given to him and
how glad he was…a woman with a high whining voice listened and promptly said,
“yes, but what i f you didn’t like the food at the buffet?”
the wish to think everything has t o be exactly some certain way, can keep me from
feeling cared for and blessed b y what i s naturally always coming my way.
as i grow in realization about how gratitude is the prosperity attitude, i can appreciate
how much of what i was looking for, i missed when i was so critical and judgmental
that i only wanted to see it one certain way. then, nothing i wanted
ever seemed to be right in front of my face, where i t always was…
