Giving Thanks for the “good” things in your Life is very important. The “good” may be very small, in the scheme of things, however, it is still GOOD.

I am amazed at how many people think of what is missing or what they don’t have. I have to admit, in my younger years, I too misunderstood how to acknowledge both situations existing at the same time. There are always situations that need to be improved. Maybe it’s your financial situation. Working toward improving your financial situation is positive, however, if you are “thinking or refering to your condition” as Poverty, that is negative energy. Every thought I focus on is “putting” energy out in my environment. I chose to focus on ABUNDANCE not a lack of abundance.

Improving my financial condition means I WANT to INCREASE abundance –the law of attraction.

I used to have a Cousin who was always worried about getting a Stroke. She’d tell her Husband about her fear at bedtime. That stopped a lot of “intimacy”, however, she was also reinforcing a negative self dialogue. Instead of striving toward Health, she was reinforcing Sickness–a state of dis-ease.

Give Thanks for what you have in your Life. You probably have much more than you think you have. Family, friends, co workers, neighbors. Count your ”haves”, not your “have-nots”.

Sometimes we can be inspired from the most ordinary things.

It occured to me this morning as I was listening to Good Moning America while I was doing some chores. When I work at home I have the benefit of putting TV on as I work; not to listen to “soap operas” but to listen to informative programs. Good Morning America and The View I find most interesting.

My inspiration came when they did an update on a story they presented 9 months ago. Camden,N.J had some of the poorest children in this country; Camden is a “stone’s throw from N.Y. Ivan, an adorable 4 year old black child was homeless with his Brother  and his Mother. They were living under conditions hard for us to imagine,including going hungry and the 3 of them sleeping on 1 chair. Ivan however, focused on the start of School. He wanted to go to School and learn how to read.His hero was Superman.

The outcry to help them was so gratifying. This family now has an apartment, food in the refrigerature and furniture. He has completed Kindergarten, in shirt, tie and he’s able to read.

To see the happiness in the faces of this family;a family living in the streets where gun fire was every day life, I was moved by the good things TV shows can accomplish.

Good Morning America was doing a story about proverty under our noses. I and many others never realized that Camden, N.J. had pockets of proverty of this magnitude.

Apparently,tonight 20/20 will tell stories of others in Have a little Faith.

There is more than sleeze on television.

I had the best of intentions last week. I was going to write a post every day and then the reality of my every day living showed me that many times my goals aren’t realistic.

I’m a GenPlus 50 person who works 3 mornings a week at a company where I expend considerable mental energy. I arise at 5AM; am out the door by 6AM, drive 45 min. I’m fortunate that at that time of the morning the traffic moves at a fast pace.

I leave at 1PM, however, I’m not finished for the day. I have errands;pick up e-mail which takes another couple of hours.

The other part of my life is as a Business Owner; marketing is one of the “hats” I have to wear. Marketing on line; marketing off line has been consumming a lot of my time and energies.

Then on Tuesday as I waited at a traffic light I saw smoke coming from under the car’s hood. When I parked to pick up my mail, the smoke was gone. I decided to go to my mechanic and apparantly the battery was ready to blow up. Acid from the battery was spewing all over. I was fortunate that I got the new battery before the old one blew up, but I didn’t need this in my busy schedule

By 6:30 PM I usually quit working at the computer, I listen to the nightly news: then I make dinner.

When I was younger I could work late into the night, now the realities of my energy and my goals are at odds. Willing myself to work longer just isn’t working. Sometimes I admonish myself that I haven’t accomplished enough and other times I acknowledge that I’ve been on the go since 5AM.

This morning, before I start my other goals on the list I decided to write –My lesson–sometimes “Life” comes along and adjusts the schedule, however, the goal can still be accomplished.

Do you have too much on your plate?

There were many differences between the chaos at the Astro Dome during the Katrina Hurracaine and the orderly cooporative endeavor at the Qualcomm Stadium.

There is no doubt that between the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisanna many mistakes were made, however, one thing struck me.

The victims of these fires, many poor, many immigrants came together to help each other, including volunteering to give to the others.

The victims of Katrina didn’t seem to have that same Spirit of Community. There was a “welfare” mentality amongst many of these people that undermined their own ability to make “lemonade out of lemons”.They didn’t come together to help each other, they created a “hell” on earth.

The fire victims were poor but they were working poor, not welfare poor. Welfare does rob people of their own ability to rise above their circumstances.

This is the first time that I saw the distinction.

The Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons do not help their people. Welfare as a way of life weakens people ability to problem solve.

We all know that air pollution can damage our lungs. Did you ever notice pictures of people in China are usually wearing a face mask to keep the particles out of their noses?

This past week the air quality in all of Southern California has been poor. The sun is filtered through smoke from the fires. Even in the San Fernando Valley we see the smoke, though the fire hasn’t touched us here.

Now there is a report out that fire ash can damage your car’s paint. If not washed off thoroughly it will erode the paint.

So, car wash operators will love the additional busines from these fires–wash and wax your car.