Finally revealed...The astonishing power of gratitude
and the solution to the 5 big mistakes that
keep most people from putting it to work for them!

Daily Gratitude Newsletters

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Daily Gratitude Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 3 - March 2005
Putting Gratitude To Work For You
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Thanks for downloading the Gratitude ebook! I hope that you liked it and that you've gone back to the Daily Gratitude web site and put in your comments. We have some wonderful comments there now, as well as some exciting endorsements on the Home page.

We now have subscribers to this newsletter in USA - Canada - Australia - New Zealand - Hong Kong - South Africa - United Kingdom - Venezuela - Nigeria - Belgium - Singapore - Cocos Islands - Thailand - Swaziland - France - Barbados

If your country is not listed, drop me a note with the Comments form at dailygratitude.com/comments.html so I can add you to the list.

This month's article addresses one of the toughest problems people have with the Gratitude steps. Although I focus on serious issues in this article, the process can be used to clear any issue that may have you stuck, whether it's big or small.

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"Our resentment keeps us bound to the very people and the very circumstances we dislike. As long as we carry that seed of resentment in our hearts we will have to create some kind of pain, drama or discontent in our lives in order to keep our blame alive."
- - Debbie Ford


      "Finding The Good"
© Wes Hopper - All Rights Reserved

The fourth step in the Law of Gratitude is forgiveness, and it has drawn a lot of mail. Some of the questions have been heart-breaking, telling stories of physical and sexual abuse and asking, "How can I find any good in this?"

The answer is - you can't find any good in abuse, because there isn't any! There is nothing good about beatings, torture and rape and I'm not surprised that people have trouble finding good there. The same is true for verbal, emotional or any other kind of abuse.

You're looking for the good in the wrong place.

So where's the good? What's to be grateful for?

Let me tell you a story. My wife and I saw one of those real life TV programs in which a young man delivering pizza got caught between two gangs having a shootout, and was killed. The program showed the boy's father dealing with his grief about his son's death.

As the show progressed, the police traced down the gang members involved and identified the shooter. He was only 14 years old! The boy's grandfather, his primary caregiver, was horrified and dealing with grief and shame over his grandson's actions.

Now at this point the story got very interesting and unusual. The victim's father, distraught over his son's death, was baffled by the fact that the killer was just a child. After following a friend's wise advice to grieve for 30 days before he did anything, and determined to find meaning in these events, he approached the killer's grandfather, not to blame him for his son's death, but for mutual consolation in the loss of their children.

Over the next few months, the two men created an organization dedicated to stopping kids from killing kids. Drawing support from many other parents caught up in violence, their new organization today is working hard to end the killing.

The lesson here is very profound. Nothing would have happened if the victim's father had not been willing first to forgive! He then made a conscious decision to look for the good that could come from the situation.

The murder was not good, but out of it came this heartfelt uniting of the parents of both perpetrator and victim working together to end the violence. This result is something that everyone can be grateful for!

This is where you find the good. It often comes from the unintended and unexpected consequences of a bad situation. Michael Beckwith calls it an initiation, like an initiation into a club, but it's a place of service.

We come out of an abusive or traumatic situation strengthened and prepared by the experience to serve others and ourselves in new and more powerful ways. This is not what the abuser intended, but it's the way God works, bringing good out of everything.

The first step in healing has to be forgiveness! It is something we do for ourselves, not for others. As Debbie Ford says in the quote in the beginning of this article, all our resentment does is keep our blame alive. We suffer the hurt again, and again, and again. Why would we want that?

Forgiveness does not mean excusing anyone from the consequences of their acts. Especially if those acts are illegal. Nor does it mean that you allow the abuse to continue. Do what you need to do to separate yourself from the abuse.

Then forgive completely. Look for the good, the unintended, unexpected good that has resulted in your life. Celebrate your new strength, new insights, your life transformation and your initiation into service.

It may take some time and distance from the events before you can do this, so be patient with yourself. You can be grateful for these blessings in your life and you can be grateful for the people and circumstances who, unknowingly, have made these blessings possible.

And you will be free.

Free of the need to blame, free of the need to be a victim, free to move forward and step into your power. Free to build the life you want with the happiness you deserve.

A great resource on this subject, which I highly recommend, is the book "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie. You can find a direct link to Amazon to buy it on our Books page www.HornCreek.com/books.html

Find more about Byron Katie at her web site www.TheWork.org

Go have a great month. I am grateful for each and every one of you!

Peace and love,
Wes

PS - Remember to go to dailygratitude.com and give us your comments.

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A healthy self image is vital to creating the life you want and the fastest short-cut to a new and powerful self image is the audio/video program, The Winner's Image.The video, filmed at the Toronto Science Center, uses terrific visual effects to illustrate how the mind works. This material is not in any of Bob Proctor's other programs and it's 51% off with only a few copies left.
www.horncreek.com/products.html

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© 2005 Wes Hopper. All rights reserved.
Feel free to pass the above in its entirety to anyone you wish.