Prepare to Receive Good Things

Christmas is a good time for many people to sharpen their receiving skills. Even though it is better to give than to receive, being able to receive things graciously makes life richer.

Many of your friends and family know how to pick out just the right sweater/pen/knicknack that delights you. Others give you gifts that perplex you. And on occasion, you get left out.

Mostly females are better at giving gifts, I think that is because this half of the human population is simply more attuned to nuance. However, one of my all-time favorite gifts was a red Waterman fountain pen Ruben gave me for my birthday. This was before I started writing Mixonian; he saw the writer in me and wanted to encourage me to write beyond what was being required of me in my studies.

Think about different ways to see the gift you receive, but to which you see no connection to yourself. There are several factors to consider:

1. It could be that the giver is not skilled at selecting gifts. Probably this person has other redeeming qualities; you can take this opportunity to remind yourself how this person is wonderful in other ways.

2. It could be that the giver sees something in you that is not evident to yourself. Maybe it's a color you don't wear, but one that actually looks stunning on you. Maybe it's a line of thinking you should explore.

3. It could be that life got really complicated this year for the giver and so fewer resources were devoted to gift selection in general.

4. It's possible that you overestimated the value of your relationship to the other person. Maybe that person is not so much into you as you thought. If you think this is the case, no drama is needed, simply redirect your energy to other relationships and activities.

It's not that you can necessarily know what is going on with that gift you got that you just do not understand. Take the opportunity though, to look past the gift itself, to the giver and how much you appreciate this person.

The way we choose to interpret events in our lives determines much of the effect those same events have on us. There is more leeway than you might think. Be generous this season in your receiving of gifts, just as you are in giving them. It's a season of delight.

Our Thanksgiving Project

We got lucky -- we're invited to share Thanksgiving with friends. And for that invitation, we are exceedingly thankful. To commemorate this day, this year, we've made a poster that reads:

The Mixon-Rodriguez Thanksgiving 100

The four of us will fill up the list with 100 things for which we're grateful.

All happiness starts with an attitude of gratitude. I think Thanksgiving Day is one contribution our country has made to the world, that all Americans can be proud of. It you think about it, having a national holiday to give thanks is a revolutionary idea.

Among countless blessings, Mixonian is grateful for all her readers and visitors and wishes you all warmth and wonder.

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy and Wealthy

By Christine Kane

Gratitude is more than being thankful one day a year. Gratitude is a practice. For some, it's a way of life.

Why do some people swear by this practice? Why do these people seem to live happier and more abundant lives than everyone else?

Because gratitude is about presence.

It's about waking up in this moment and being here - really being here - and noticing what's around you. Most people are so busy thinking about the next thing, or about their horrid past, that they don't wake up and look around at their present moment - the only moment there is.

Because gratitude is about honoring your life.

Do you ever compare your life with someone else's? Do you ever wish your life were better and more like [Insert Famous Person's Name]? Sometimes we can lose ourselves in wondering how we "measure up" to some standard set by our families or by the media. Comparison is the mind killer. And the antidote is gratitude.

Gratitude requires you to validate your own life. (And you really don't have any other life, do you?) It forces you to say YES to the gift that is you. The choices you've made and the changes you've gone through - they have brought you here. Even if here is a place that needs a little adjustment, that's okay. There are always gifts in any present moment.

Because gratitude is about attracting.

It's difficult to attract abundance and joy if you are constantly saying "no" to what IS. You say no each time you focus on the future or past, or when you criticize something that is in your present moment.

Attraction is about saying Yes. When you say Yes, you shift.

Gratitude says, "Yes, I love this!" And then more of this is attracted, because the this is what you're focusing on.

Because gratitude is about choice.

How you translate any situation is the situation. What you choose to see is the truth (for you).

This isn't proposing that you live in denial or phoniness. It's reminding you that your translation of any life situation is your own choice. We've all heard stories of people who have ignored others' translations of their talent, their projects, their art, their looks, their lives. These people chose their own translations and succeeded. You always have a choice when it comes to how you look at things. Choose to choose gratitude.

Because gratitude is about wisdom.

I think people believe they're being smart if they criticize, complain, and focus on the problems of the world around them.

Smart? Maybe.

Clever? Sure.

But not wise.

It is wise to look for and find the knowing place in your heart. It is wise to choose joy. It is wise to honor your riches. It is wise to focus on and grow the blessings of your life.

Because gratitude is about recognition.

Use your power of focus to hone in on beauty and on what makes your heart sing. Recognize the spirit in your life. It's all around you waiting to be noticed. In the words of Franz Kafka, "It will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

Because gratitude is about receptivity.

Gratitude makes you receptive. It makes you concave. It makes you a vessel, waiting to be filled.

I carry a tiny notebook with me everywhere I go. In it, I write down song ideas. I write down quotes I hear. I write down ideas for stage stories. As I do that, I become more receptive, and more ideas and songs come to me. It's a tool that says to my subconscious, "Send more my way!" And the subconscious always responds.

Gratitude is the same way. It says, "I am receptive! Send more!" And more arrives.

Because gratitude is about creativity.

Creativity is really all about attention. (So is genius.)

When I write a song, I build a relationship with that song. I spend time with it. I get to know it. I pay attention to it. Artists do the same thing with drawings. They spend time in rapt attention and the drawing is born.

Gratitude is how we Live Creative. It is a creative act to notice and pay attention to the moments of your life. Some days it's an enormous act of creativity to find things for which to be thankful.

Start today.

And have a Thanksgiving of presence, creativity, and gratitude!

---

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Birthday Thoughts

Remember when you were 5 years old and about to turn 6, so old that your age could no longer be represented with only one hand? Then, in the blink of an eye, you get so old that you're not really sure how old you're turning on the next birthday.

I remember when my grandmother couldn't remember her age at times. Was she 58, or about to turn 58? At the time, I couldn't imagine how that was possible to forget how old you were. Now, I get it. The years go by so quickly!

We are supposed to feel complimented when people underestimate our ages these days. That's almost the ultimate positive feedback -- that you don't look that old, or like you have that many children!

Well, if you think about it, you probably don't want to go back and re-live those old experiences, that is unless you could do so with the wisdom you've acquired in the process. So what's more valuable, looking youthful, or being wiser?

Finally, while being wiser than you used to be is a good thing, birthdays are also reminders of our immortality. It's a great opportunity to express gratitude for the abundance of blessings that surround us: health, loving family, understanding friends, cooler weather, public libraries, indoor plumbing, coffee makers, salads in bags, swimming pools and Starbucks coffee ice cream with chocolate!

The Law of Gratitude

By David Cameron Gikandi


You have heard it many times that an attitude of gratitude has the power to get you realizing your dreams at record speed. Why? Because gratitude completes the cycle of knowing.

Remember, you cannot know what is without knowing what is not. What you like and what you hate are two ends of the same thing. For example, if you like being with your spouse and hate being separated from them, realize that you are working within the same essence,which is your spouse.

It is because of the moments of absence that you appreciate and recognize the moments of presence. When you are grateful for both what you like and what you don't like, you complete the knowingness and you are released from having to experience what you don't like.This cannot be explained logically, but some very significant shifts occur in your mind and soul (and you can feel this releasing shift) whenever you are genuinely grateful for all things, even the ones you don't like.

Gratitude will speed you through your growth and success more than any amount of hard work ever can. Gratitude completes the lesson, and as a statement of completion rings that tone of success, pulling to you the end result desired.

Another way to put it is that you cannot leave a situation permanently unless you appreciate the gifts it brings you,and all situations bring a gift, no matter how terrible the situation may appear to be. This law ensures that you will always complete your knowing and embrace all that is before moving on.

Mixonian note: Remember the saying by Napoleon Hill: "Every adversity carries the seed of an equal or greater benefit." It's our job to find that seed and go with it.

David Cameron Gikandi
Images of One
corporate@imagesofone.com
http://www.imagesofone.com/

12 Things to Enjoy This Week-end

A happy life happens when you take time to notice and appreciate the good things all around you. Remember the word "appreciate" has two meanings: What you appreciate, appreciates!

12 Free or Mostly-Free Things to Appreciate Now:

1. If you live in the Southeast, enjoy the rain.

2. We're having cooler, but delightful temperatures.

3. You can get a pretty tasty wine at the grocery store for under $10.

4. Sarah Palin.

5. Stock prices are still down, making bargain hunting easier.

6. The price of gasoline is around 10% less than what it was about a month ago.

7. Football fans have their game to watch. The rest of us can watch them and wonder.

8. The days are still long enough to get in an evening walk before dark.

9. Purple is "the" fashion color, even for non-ECU fans. You probably have something purple in your closet.

10. Opaque black tights are in this fall; they're cheap, warm, and enhance all legs.

11. Fresh tomatoes are still available.

12. Blogs are free. ;-)

What are you appreciating this week-end? Enjoy.

Open the Little Gifts in Your Life

The absolute best way to be happy right now is to see yourself as someone with a grateful heart. Mixonian recommends starting each day writing down, or thinking about, 5 wonderful things in life as it is presently constituted. Julia Cameron advises to practice accepting gifts in whatever form they come to you.

You may have noticed that on the day-to-day basis, life is full of surprises, while in the longer run, things tend to turn out as we expected.

Sometimes we get so involved in the major goals we're working on, we fail to see and enjoy the little gifts that show up in our lives. One way to see these gifts is to look for progress or baby steps, instead of having a narrow focus on the ultimate accomplishment.

Let's say, for example, Eunice has the goal of getting fine new appliances for her kitchen. She wants the best, and surely she will have it. But in the meantime, her cruddy old refrigerator breaks down and she is forced to buy a new one.

To make the situation more interesting, she wants a top-brand refrigerator, she needs a new one right now, but doesn't have the finances to get the one she wants. Is this a failure? A disappointment?

Absolutely not. She buys the model she can afford, it is surely somewhat better than the old clunker, and she celebrates a step in the right direction!

In her book, The Vein of Gold, creative Cameron suggests an exercise to help you welcome unexpected gifts in your life:

Write down the phrase, "It would be really nice if_________________" twenty times. Put the list where you see it regularly.

Be alert for gifts that arrive in response to this Wish List! Celebrate baby steps, just as we celebrate a baby's early steps, even as he repeatedly falls on his bottom.

Give Thanks for a Reason

It's not just Mixonian, there's actually research out there indicating that grateful people are healthier and happier.

Robert Emmons, PhD, has even written a book on the subject: Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. His research indicates that people who express and feel gratitude benefit on several fronts. They enjoy better health, stronger relationships, and success in the personal and professional goals.

In one study on gratitude published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the participants in the grateful group, wrote down 5 things each day for which they were grateful. The other groups wrote down their problems and another group noted all things that were affecting them. Not surprisingly, the grateful group experienced better health and more optimism about life in general than the other people in the study.

You can find more about these and other studies in Terri Trespicio's article, "Thank-you Therapy," published in the September issue of body + soul.

How amazing is it that the simple act of expressing gratitude is 1) free; 2) instantly accessible; and 3) universally available? No therapist needed.

Take a minute, if you haven't done so already today, and consider all the blessings in your life. Even with the situations that are annoying you, think about the valuable lesson in that situation that's waiting for you.

And even if you're not feeling particularly grateful for the mess you see right now, you can immediately feel better by say, switching the channel in your mind right now. Change your focus, change the emotion you're feeling. It's your choice.

Mixonian thanks you for reading this. Have a terrific Tuesday.

The Advantages of Having No Dishwasher

Let it be known that I truly thought that all American homes were furnished with electric dishwashers. I knew that was part of the American Way of Life. Imagine my surprise when I rented this charming cottage built in 1935, that has no dishwasher, or maid either. Not to worry, there are advantages:

1. Several years ago I inherited several pieces of my paternal grandmother's fine china. I had never used it until I moved into this house. Now it's my everyday china, washed by hand each day. I think I've used it more in the nine months I've lived in this house than over the decades she had it. Using it brings me fond memories and I know she would be pleased to see it being appreciated.

2. I've learned to prepare delicious and nutricious (of course) meals using fewer pots and pans. I do stir-frys, hearty soups, and other one-pan specials. Sometimes I fix these "tapa"-like spreads with cheese, olives, nuts, crackers, and of course, wonderful organic dates. Now that the weather is warm, we eat a lot of super salads.

3. Washing dishes gives me time to think, or mentally vegetate if I prefer. Funny thing, the kids usually disappear quite quickly after a meal, leaving me all alone. I really don't mind, I've delegated other chores to the children and usually, but not always, I wash the dishes by myself. This time washing the dishes adds a nice touch to my life's rhythm. If I really must rush, I leave them soaking and get to them later, and/or get the children to help.

Not having a dishwasher has advantages, but it would be especially nice to have one when we have guests. When we do get our electric dishwasher, I'll be sure to let the children take care of kitchen clean-up, it won't be special any more.

Attitude of Gratitude

Well, you've all heard it before, an attitude of gratitude makes for a happy existence. Trite, perhaps, but absolutely true! Maybe I'm remembering this because it's my last day of class for this semester, and I have a wonderful house guest with me, my sister. When things are manifest the way you want them, it's easy to be grateful.

When things are bothering you, it's even more important to be grateful. Focus on the good things in your life is the most helpful mindset you can have. You see opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden. Life is easier for those people with a positive attitude and there's nothing like a dose of remembering your blessings to straighten out your thinking.

If the words you speak account for only 7% of your message, attitude is probably 95% (Mixonian math). Attitude sets the tone for all your communication, in the most literal sense. Being positive transmits outward through your tone of voice, your posture, your facial expression, and overall energy level. This state of mind is a rich resource, available to everyone.

Several authors recommend writing out a gratitude list. That is a good starting place. Writing down some things for which you're grateful is an outstanding way to begin the day, every day.

Be grateful, not because it's a pious thing to do, give thanks because it's the intelligent way to be.