THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING Gloria!

[Guest guest]

Thanks Gloria! You have an eye for truth, beauty,

wisdom, and humor...and always the best quotes...

 

So do you Mazie and Vicki and J and all!

 

Is this a gift or a talent one develops?

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Thanks to everyone for

the kind words. Yes, I am planning on a big vegetarian

dinner!

 

God bless the turkeys.

 

Love to all

Harsha

 

 

 

 

 

--- Gloria Lee <glee wrote:

> To wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, here is some

> 'food for thought'.

>

> Gloria

>

> -

> okay4me2003

> Hafiz

> Monday, November 25, 2002 4:28 PM

> [Hafiz] THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! Written

> by Alan Cohen

>

>

> THE STORY IS TOLD ABOUT A WOMAN ZEN MASTER named

> Sono who taught one

> very simple method of enlightenment. She advised

> everyone who came

> to her to adopt an affirmation to be said many times

> a day, under all

> conditions.

>

> The affirmation was, "THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. I

> HAVE NO COMPLAINT

> WHATSOEVER."

>

> Many people from all arenas of life came to Sono for

> healing. Some

> were in physical pain; others were emotionally

> distraught; others had

> financial troubles; some were seeking soul

> liberation. No matter

> what their distress or what question they asked her,

> her response was

> the same: "Thank you for everything. I have no

> complaint

> whatsoever." Some people went away disappointed;

> others grew angry;

> others tried to argue with her. Yet some people

> took her suggestion

> to heart and began to practice it. Tradition tells

> that everyone who

> practiced Sono's mantra found peace and healing.

>

> Thank you for everything. I have no complaint

> whatsoever. My friend

> Lisa, an attractive woman in her late 30's, came to

> one of my

> seminars after I had not seen her for a number of

> years. She

> informed the group that a year earlier she had been

> diagnosed with a

> brain disorder that required immediate surgery. The

> surgery was

> done, a steel plate was inserted in her head, and

> her doctor keeps

> her under close observation. Lisa reported that now

> she lives from

> day to day. Privately I told Lisa that I was sorry

> she had gone

> through this whole ordeal. "Oh, don't be sorry,"

> she told Me

> emphatically.

>

> "I'm not sorry at all. This was one of the best

> Things that has ever

> happened to me. It really got me to appreciate my

> life and

> relationships. I married a wonderful guy and we are

> thinking about

> having children. I wouldn't trade the experience if

> I could." Thank

> you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

>

> Can you imagine what your life would be like if you

> simply dropped

> your complaints? It's a radical proposal, since

> most of us have Been

> trained to question, analyze, and criticize

> everything we see. But

> then we end up questioning, analyzing, and

> criticizing ourselves.

> Then we miss out on joy, the only true measure of

> success.

>

> The ecstatic mystic poet Hafiz proclaimed, "All a

> sane man can ever

> think about is giving love." One evening I received

> a phone call from

> my friend Cliff, a Jewish guy from Brooklyn who

> discovered A Course

> in Miracles and became a world-class love exuder.

> Cliff just went

> around finding good and beauty in everyone he met.

> On the phone,

> Cliff told me, "I just called to tell you how much I

> love And

> appreciate you."

>

> "Well, thank you Cliff," I answered, delighted. "I

> really Appreciate

> that .

>

> . . What prompted you to call me at this moment?"

>

> "My knee was hurting me, and I knew that the only

> way I could Feel

> better would be to give more love. So I began to

> think of the people

> in my life who I care about, and you came to mind."

> Thank you for

> everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.

>

> As we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving, many of

> us will be

> getting together with our families. Perhaps family

> issues may come

> to the fore and we might be tempted to fall into a

> pattern of

> rehashing old resentments and arguments. Wouldn't

> it be fabulous if,

> as we sat with our relatives, we held in mind,

> "Thank you for

> everything. I have no complaint whatsoever."

>

> Imagine what this Thanksgiving would be like if we

> decided that no

> matter how much Mom complained about Dad; how much

> Dad bugged us

> about getting a real job; or how unspiritual our ex

> is, we chose to

> be an unstoppable appreciation machine and found the

> good in our

> loved ones. Indeed this would be a triumphant

> Thanksgiving to

> remember!

>

> Yes, I know, there is a voice inside you objecting,

> "But if I did not

> complain, people would walk all over me and selfish

> opportunists

> would genetically manipulate my food and terrorists

> would keep

> crashing airplanes into buildings and . . . and.

> . . Got it.

> Now if you went to Sono, her response would be,

> "Thank you for

> everything. I have no complaint whatsoever." I am

> simply suggesting

> that we practice the mantra for an entire

> Thanksgiving day. And then

> maybe one day a week. Then we might start to feel

> so good and our

> lives will become so effective that we want to turn

> every day into

> Thanksgiving.

>

> In my book Handle with Prayer I state that the

> highest form of prayer

> is gratitude. Instead of asking God for stuff,

> start thanking God

> for stuff, and you will find that God has already

> given you

> everything you could want or need, including the

> adventure of

> discovering more riches every day.

>

> Life is a big treasure hunt. Eventually we grow

> weary of seeking

> treasures outside ourselves, and we begin to look

> within. There we

> discover that the gold we sought, we already are.

> The beauty we

> overlooked because we were focusing on what was

> missing, still lives

> and awaits us like an anxious lover. As T.S. Eliot

> nobly noted, The

> end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we

> started and know

> the place for the first time.

>

> Thank you for everything. I have no complaint

> whatsoever. Have a

> great Thanksgiving.

>

> Lenny

>

>

>

>

> Addresses:

> To Post a Hafiz poem: Hafiz

> To Subscribe: Hafiz-

> To Un: Hafiz

> Archive: Hafiz

>

>

>

> Terms of Service.

>

 

 

 

=====

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