100 – April 10
“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.”—Muhammad Ali
When there is a door prize or a drawing for a free gift, do you usually win it?
Did one of the voices in your head just say, “Oh, I never win anything”? If so, that’s the reason you’re not winning. You have to expect to win.
I used to watch other people collecting their door prizes while I sat on the sidelines and never won any. Some people won multiple prizes, and I would hear the murmurs in the room as people turned to each other and said, “She’s so lucky! She always wins something!”
As I worked on my affirmations, I noticed that when it came to winning door prizes, I wasn’t doing a very good job of being positive. In fact, I was one of the people with a voice in my head that said, “I never win these things!” Well, seeing the problem is the first step in solving the problem, so I started doing new affirmations: “I am a winner,” “I win often and I win big,” “I win door prizes all the time,” etc.
It wasn’t long before I won a big basket of food, candy, and coffees at a luncheon. Pam, a good friend of mine who was also at the luncheon, shared her experience of this win with me. When the drawing was announced and the woman was reaching in the basket to pull out the winning ticket, she sighed, sat back in her chair and thought, “I don’t win these things.” But just as she had that thought, she happened to catch sight of me across the room. Pam said I was sitting up straighter in my chair, had a bright smile on my face, and looked like I expected to hear my name called. In a flash of understanding, she saw that the difference in our attitudes was creating the difference in our realities. She wasn’t surprised when I won. She couldn’t wait to tell me this story and find out what affirmations I was using. She started doing them herself, and a month later, won the door prize at the next luncheon!
Now when I hear the whispers, “She always wins!” they’re talking about Pam and me.
And you?
Today’s Affirmation:
“I always win something, everywhere I go!”
I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
Long, long ago, at a networking meeting far, far, away….
Well, it really wasn’t far away – it was in Santa Monica – but it does feel like ages ago. I went to a networking group founded by Christine Kloser called NEW Entrepreneurs (NEW stood for Nurturing Entrepreneurial Women or something like that). It was a great group of businesswomen with a spiritual bend that I related to very well.
I met a woman there named Sylvia Silk, who I quickly discovered lived just up the street from me, and we started walking once a week in the park. Sylvia is married to a psychiatrist, and teaches the Reconnection technique, got her Masters in Spiritual Psychology, and is just a lovely, deep, spirit. I treasure our walks very much, and always run things by her when I am confused, or searching, or mad (angry and/or crazy) about something…Sylvia knows just how to cut to the chase, to refocus my attention on what really matters, or to ask just the right searching question.
On one walk, I was very nostalgic. The end of “Lost”, “24”, Simon on “American Idol”, and turning 62 (yikes!). Endings were on my mind, and the love and connections between people. I relished the love shared between the characters on these shows, and felt a little bereft as they rode into the sunset. I don’t get to share their adventures, struggles, and passions any more. Yeah, it was all imaginary and vicarious, but it feels like a real loss just the same. Hmm.
A little melancholy, on my walk with Sylvia, I started down the path of looking at all the losses in my life, all the relationships that didn’t last, the hopes and dreams that didn’t come true, the plans that didn’t come to fruition. That I didn’t have a successful marriage, that my book wasn’t a NY Times bestseller, that I hadn’t been on Oprah, blah blah blah. I was really wallowing in it.
“Chellie, all that is just the Ego talking,” Sylvia said. None-too-gently, I might add.
Instantly, I stopped walking. Looked at her and stopped talking, too. OMG.
Feeding the ego isn’t what this life is all about. The success of a venture isn’t the point – it’s the ad-venture. It’s the exploration through which we discover our values, vision, and voice. It’s the crucible through which we distill our spirits. It’s learning, it’s school, it’s soul development. Throughout your journey, you win some, you lose some. Poker players are fond of saying, “The next best thing to playing poker and winning is playing poker and losing.” The important thing is to be in action, to be in the game, playing full-out. To learn, grow, love God, love life, and love each other. Oh, yessss….
I knew that. At least, upon occasion, I have known that. But thank God we have Way-Showers, friends on this journey of life, to guide us back to the true path when we stray and get lost in the weeds and the bogs of the side roads.
Everyone I meet is my teacher. I learn from all of you.
Have you had a similar experience with a friend enlightening you in an instant? I’d love for you to share it here with me! Thanks for sharing!
