Gratitude Is A Counterpoint For Disappointment

Gratitude is a counterpoint for disappointment

The Society for the New Message from God shared a message received by Marshall Vian Summers in January of 2009, a message on joy and gratitude.  It is too long to quote, but I will share some of its ideas in shorter form.

Just arriving in this world is an accomplishment.

I am going to quote this paragraph, because it has an interesting phrase:

“Gratitude here is such a counterpoint for disappointment, for failed expectations and for the inability to express yourself successfully with others. It is such a counterpoint to all the things you think you want and need for yourself that you cannot seem to attain. It is a counterpoint to the endless busyness and recklessness with which people try to live their lives, always striving to have more, striving to keep what they have, striving to control their situation, striving to fulfill their desires or in some cases even to live out their fantasies.”

Here the word “counterpoint” is being used in the context “an alternate idea being brought up in contrast with the main idea.”  But counterpoint also has the definition of “the art or technique of writing different melodies to flow together harmoniously, according to certain rules.”  In my mind’s ear, I hear the melody of gratitude played alongside the melody of disappointment played by life.

This message is not nearly as blunt as Tecumseh was when he said “If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself,” but the idea that we live in a world full of wonders and happy moments is there.

Gratitude is a counterpoint for disappointment

We live in a world with a vast number of contributions made by other people who thought, at one time or another, “Maybe it would be nice if…”  Somebody strung the wires, somebody dug the hole and put in the pipes, somebody built the roads, somebody developed the medicines, etc.

Give up driving a car for a year and then have the experience of driving a car.

Maybe we’re not ready to pay the price for the things we say we want.  Maybe we’re not prepared to get what we say we want.  Aren’t there many examples of people experiencing great stress and difficulty after winning the lottery?  Don’t championship athletes routinely experience the hollowness of their success after years of effort?

People who are afraid of death, and whose hearts are full of the other fears that come from the fear of death, are robbed of the joy of living. “It is like you are dying a thousand times, dying every day for want of living.”

“If you do not think you are rich you should go somewhere where you would be rich and you will see why you are suffering over nothing.”  In Zimbabwe, you would be rich.

“You have to limit how much bad news you let into your home through the media that keeps you in a state of frustration and aggravation.” I’m taking this piece of advice.

Our bodies and minds are remarkable vehicles.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  If you don’t like your vehicle, consider swapping with a dog, or a squid, or an ant.

“Ask yourself, ‘Do I want to focus on the one percent that is not working and miss the 99 percent that is working?'”

While all of the above are interim recommendations, the big answer is connecting with Knowledge, the deeper current, the Greater Power.

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