The Power of Gratitude and Anticipation

Dag Hammarskjold, former Swedish diplomat and UN General Secretary, once said: "For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes."

Gratitude is one of the keys to happiness. In the midst of the struggles and challenges life provides, taking time to count one's blessings keeps one's frustrations and setbacks in perspective. Instead of complaining about what you've lost, focus on what you have left to use! Instead of dwelling on what might have been; look for the unexpected openings that have presented you with new opportunities you don't want to miss. 

Gratitude is also critical in building anticipation for the exciting adventure that the future can bring. It's hard to look forward to the future unless you can appreciate your past. A recent news item, talked of two teens who are building a new business selling T-shirts with the positive message--"Life is good!" They can't keep the T-shirts in stock. The media may make a living bringing you the worst, but the change agents of the world don't have time to watch. They're too busy inventing a future they want to live in!

At your next family dinner or staff meeting, take time to share your greatest blessings of 2006. What are your thankful for? Then think about what adventure you look forward to in 2007. What are you ready to say "Yes" to? 

(Source: Dag Hammarskjold, www.quotationspage.com)

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[James Bela]

"I want to thank you for making this day necessary."
--Yogi Berra
(On Yogi Berra Day in 1947 in St. Louis)

"The future ain't what it used to be."
-- Yogi Berra

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have."
-- Socrates

"The best in life is its past, present and future."
-- Pier Paolo Pasolini

[James Bela]

During the Second World War, a violinist named Shonee Alexander Braun was a prisoner of the Nazis, and made to work in a munitions factory that produced rockets. Not the intercontinental rockets, but the small rockets they used against plane and ground troops. And he had the only machine that put the gunpowder in the warheads of the rockets. And one day, one of the prisoners came to him and asked if he'd be willing to risk his life to carry out a plan that might save the lives of others. It was a difficult choice, but he immediately agreed.

It was a very simple plan, but it was dangerous. Because, if it were discovered, he'd be the obvious one that was guilty, or responsible!

They were going to bring in sand in their lunch pails, and mix the sand with the gunpowder. Mostly sand, and just a little gunpowder. So that when the rocket hit its target, it would not explode! And they were able to escape detection for the rest of the war.

After the war, Mr. Braun came to Cleveland, Ohio; and he went to one of the local banks to cash a check. But he wasn't a regular customer there . . . he had no account there, and his English was not so good. So the clerk asked the bank president to approve the transaction. Well, it happened that the bank president also could speak German, and that was a common language that they could speak to each other. So Mr. Braun got to tell his story: how he came to this country, how he had been a prisoner working in the munitions factory, and about their sabotage efforts.

And, as he told the story, the bank president stood up, jumped out of his seat; and hugged him, and started saying over and over again:

`God Bless You! God Bless You! Thank You! Thank You!'

And the astonished Mr. Braun asked: `Well, what's this for? What's going on?'

And he explained . . the bank president had a son who was in the U.S. Air Force, who was sent on a bombing mission over that part of Europe where Mr. Braun was a prisoner. And on one of those missions, a rocket had hit the plane. It pierced the fuselage, but did not explode! When they returned to base, they took the rocket apart to find out why it didn't explode. And it was filled with SAND!

So the two men embraced each other, with tears of joys, as the results of this brave CHOICE! . . .