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“Gratitude, we find in the dictionary, but not often in the heart of man.”

What do you have to be grateful of in life? Look closely. There is a lot more there than you normally recognize. Perhaps it is a beautiful family, wonderful relationships or simply the pattern of your career.

Even if you are experiencing tough times, especially if you are experiencing tough times it is so important that you center yourself from a point of gratitude. To do so lowers your center of balance toward frustration and disappointment.

Gratitude is natural counteraction to depression. The realization of gratitude helps to fortify self-value and self-esteem and strengthens the quality of character.

When Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal the first words out of his mouth were “thank you”. He understood and was grateful for the efforts of his teammates that allowed him to succeed in his goals.

Here are some things I always remember to be grateful for:

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“A man soon learns how little he knows, when a child begins to ask questions”

There are times when despite all of our high technology and academic degrees we stand mouth agape in stunned silence at the wonder of the purity of a child’s curiosity.

Children see the world from a place that is not tainted by hidden feelings and obscure meanings. They seek very basic answers in their wondrous exploration of the world around them.

In fact, children lack the comprehensive maturity that naturally allows complexity to seep into the mind of the adult.

Things are blue, red and yellow to them. There is no subtle mixing of the base colors of life and emotion into shades until they are exposed to the adult world of thought. Often when faced with a difficult decision or situation I have sought out the counsel of a young child.

The intelligent teacher quickly becomes the student again in search of meaning and direction and that intelligence is defined by their ability to subvert themselves to the knowledge and words of their student or subordinate.

Most adults would never consider asking a child their take on a very adult matter, yet I am almost always astounded by the clarity and truth that the child has in their vision and thought.

Children have a way of bluntly getting to the heart of a matter because they don’t yet know about or carry the confusing mix of experience and feeling that will layer upon them as they age.

Need a true clear take on the matter? Ask a child!

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The airwaves of the 1980’s were filled with landmark collaborations that spawned some of the greatest and most enduring music ever made. Few were more influential during this period than the musical trio in the Police.

However, the individual personalities and thought patterns I so often talk about in my seminars slowly began to pull the cohesion of this group apart.

Today I was surprised and pleased to see that even though these men have mantained the integrity of their personal patterns they have matured in comprehension to a point where they can transcend the individual differences to create the art of music all over again.

After almost 100 concert dates together on the recent worldwide tour they have risen above petty words to accept who they are individually and as a unit.

Few people ever reach this point of mental and emotional maturity especially under the social microscope of celebrity.

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During my living experience I have been blessed with an abundance of truly close friends. It also doesn’t hurt that some of these people have been well known celebrities in their own right.

If I were to describe a person who is despondent and unhappy there would be many references to their facial expressions, body posture and attitude, but one important thing that might be overlooked is how alone they usually are.

Friends are the shining diamonds that bring meaning into personal life. If you were to go through life without close friends you would be devoid of the interaction that colors the living experience with emotions and feeling.

Collect your diamonds around you and polish them into the sparkling living essence that they have to offer. The truly rich person is up their neck in beautiful friend diamonds.

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Many of the patterns that lead individuals down the pressure and distraction filled path of living also apply to human society structure.
The patterns are simply on a larger scale.

Individuals sometimes evolve into personal patterns that begin to make their life so complicated that they don’t have the hours available to address these self-imposed things to do.

Society has also fallen into a process of believing that more complex is always better. More complex is simply more complex and doesn’t equate into a better way. In fact, many of the patterns of our society have become so diluted and complex that the original intended purpose can no longer be achieved.

Rules become too stringent, laws become too layered and processes become so complicated that people cannot determine how to use or apply them or they are rendered ineffective.

These are well intended developments by people who have become blind over time to the fact that constantly increasing detail doesn’t always improve.

When I was a child our local swimming pool had one lifeguard for the entire pool. In fact, I was a lifeguard years later in my teens. As a lifeguard one sat ever diligent to any situation that might arise and only acted if needed. Otherwise the people swam and had a good time and dove off the 1 and 3 meter diving boards with screams of delight.

I recently sat at a local swimming pool and watched the people interact with the lifeguards. There were 8 lifeguards on duty around the pool area each with 4 foot long yellow safety floats. Children were not allowed to slide or dive into the deep end unless each took a swimming test beforehand.

Of course diving boards have been all but outlawed now because they have been deemed too dangerous and an insurance burden.

People were only allowed to swim in specific directions and the air was filled with toots and whistles of direction from the lifeguards who resembled traffic officers as they gestured from elevated perches.

The kid pool was a 32 by 35 foot area with water depth from 1 inch to 10 inches at its deepest. There were 3 lifeguards with floats stationed around this tiny kid pool that were quick to tell any violator not to swing, hang, run, dance, throw water, enter from an improper direction or any number of other rules.

Keep in mind that it took only 3 to 4 strides to reach any child in water barely above the ankles of the average adult.

The result was an almost empty pool. Within an hour or so the lifeguards had succeeded in running almost everyone out of the pool.

The people either sat on recliners and enjoyed the sun or simply wandered off seeking other things to do. The process of swimming had become daunting and almost painful under the incessant glare of the lifeguards.

The young children who once were laughing and splashing water were safe because they sat staring at the water from a distance not daring to go in.

Now, I’m certain the extra safety measures and rules were intended to make the experience safer for children and families, but the patterns had become so overbearing that people simply gave up on swimming.

Is this what we want for the improvement of our society?

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