Goddess Exposed:
The Personal and Spiritual Growth of a Goddess

When We Want and Want, But Just Don't Receive

«Want is a growing giant whom the coat of have was never large enough to cover...»
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently, I have been thinking and talking a lot about gratitude.

It seems that so many of us want more than what we have. It's not that we aren't happy with what we already have in our lives, we just want more. We want a better relationship, we want more money, we want a bigger house, we want, we want, we want.

But what about being thankful for what we already have?

A few months ago, I received a Gratitude Journal as a gift from The Secret. The journal is encased in a beautiful heavy leather, tri-fold binder. I really liked it because it had a private, secret feel to it. Like what I wrote would be just between me and God. The journal itself is divided into two sections; 'Gratitude Now' and «Gratitude Intentions'. Each page of the journal has quotes that relate to gratitude.

Receiving the Gratitude Journal seemed like God offering me the «next step» on my journey. But I found it really hard to get started. It wasn't that I wasn't thankful...it was just finding a way to state the gratitude. And the idea of being thankful in advance for things that I wanted but didn't have was almost not conceivable to me. So the journal sat on my shelf.

About a month ago, the journal called to me. So I took it off the shelf and opened it up, staring at the blank pages. It was hard, so I just started with the obvious. 'Thank you, God, for giving me loving and interesting children. Thank you for the beautiful children that I work with and the joy they give me each day.' Then, I thanked God for putting people in my life that made me want to be a better person. And that was it. I couldn't make it past that.

I read and meditated on what I had written every day. I said the words of gratitude in the quietness of my mind and aloud. I remembered that, if God were indeed everything, then I was also a part of God, however miniscule. I reminded myself that my thoughts could become things.

And just about a week later, things started to happen. My life began to change. I began to find people in my life who were suddenly making me really look closely at myself; to question the strength of my own beliefs; to evaluate my purpose/ to find my true relationship with God, the Universal Mind.

I found that the gratitude started flowing so much more easily. When I was sad or frustrated, I found things to be thankful for instead. It wasn't easy, but I saw it manifesting huge changes in my life. Just a little gratitude for what I already had.

I have a friend who is fabulous. He's young, he has a great job, he's handsome, and he owns his own home. He has what I believe to be a good relationship with God and seems to try to be very faithful. What he doesn't have that he really wants more than anything is a wife and a family. In the relatively short time I've known him, it's been an ongoing conversation. He is so concerned with what he doesn't have, what he wants, and the reasons that he doesn't have it, that he overlooks how wonderful his life already is, even without that.

Last week, I told him a story from a parent's point of view. As a mom, I give my children everything that they need and a lot of things that they want. They don't usually have to ask me for things...I sort of just supply them. On occasion, though, they want something else. When they are so focused on that one thing that they forget what a great life they actually already have, I don't give them what they want. After all, they don't even recognize how blessed they already are! On the other hand, if I know that there is something that they want, but they are not just focused on getting it, but instead are enjoying all they have in their lives, then I give it to them, if I can. I think that God, as a parent, must be much the same way. He just wants us to appreciate all that he's already given us without always wanting something else.

I, for one, am extremely blessed. I have great friends who are always there for me; an awesome family; my children are bright, intelligent and interesting. I have a home, I have a car, and I have food on my table. I have talents. I am blessed. Yet still, I too find myself wanting more. But what could I possibly need that God hasn't already given me?

Want is indeed a growing giant. When we get what we want, we just want more. So many times, we forget to stop and just be thankful for what we already have. Gratitude is such an amazingly powerful gift. Use your gratitude as often as you can and you'll soon find that you are given even more than you could even ask for.

Peace.

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The Goddess Mari is a belly dance instructor, performer and choreographer from the Chicago area. She has been working online for almost 8 years and manages multiple websites. She owns and operates ArticleFocusBlog.com, which is a pay-to-post, high quality article blog. In this series, she chronicles her own search for a greater existence.
Visit her at ArticleFocusBlog.com or at GoddessMari.com