Choice: Fear Versus Freedom

Being the spiritual person I am learning to be, I have begun to realize the implications of being judgmental.  I’ve gone through so many years of personal surrender to my truest self I have seen what judgment can do.  Any form of judgment is a recipe for disaster, simply because it causes an individual to place a value on another individual of equal status.  I have come to realize that such a disposition is incredibly precarious, because eventually, the harshest judge becomes one’s self of oneself!  Since I have no use for self-judgment, being that it is of the utmost degradation to one’s advancement in the spiritual realm, I have found a mechanism with which to cope.  What I have realized is that choice is everything.

I define the term “choice” as one’s right to decide for oneself.  Without choice one is confined, and, by virtue of the definition I have just given, “confinement” is not having the ability (whether physical or mental) to decide for oneself. Now, I would like to discuss first “confinement”, then, “choice” as both a physical and mental option for living.

What is Confinement?                                                                 

Typically speaking (and I use the term “typically” quite loosely), many humans have the right to choose.  But, there are times when choice is not an option.  When one is born, for example, one has not chosen one’s parents, economic status, siblings, religious or spiritual beliefs, geographic standpoint, and the like.  In this way, the individual is confined.  The confinement starts with the individual’s caregivers and branches out to the individual’s social surroundings.  In many situations, as the individual grows larger and develops mentally, physical and mental confinement becomes increasingly more difficult to enforce.  The care-giving society may find that the individual struggles against the norm with the development of words like “no” and defiant physical behaviors.  At this point, the struggle becomes man versus beast, as the individual may not be physically or mentally equipped to fight against those individuals who are more capable than they.    

For example, as children get older, because they are both smaller and more immature, they try to defy their surroundings to become freer, yet their mêlée is squelched.  Perhaps because they are too young to fend for their physical safety, or are too immature to yet understand the preparations in supporting themselves, they quickly realize their codependence upon their older, more mature counterparts.  This codependence, if not fostered properly, can lead to a major confusion about what “choice” really means.

Again, my personal best definition for the term “choice” is the right for an individual to decide for oneself.  It is a right, meaning, each individual is allotted his or her own personal point-of-view on just about anything!  Now, as odd as this may seem (given society’s obsession with the ego), this is still very true.  For example: if you don’t want to go to college, you don’t have to go; however, if you are mentally “confined” to your care-givers, you may feel as if you should – but you do have an actual choice in the matter.  There is definitely a difference between physical and mental confinement, and there are different implications and damages to an individual as a result.            

Physical Confinement

Physical confinement is when one does not have the physical ability to choose for oneself.  In this instance, the individual is literally not able to break the bonds of confinement, because the person(s) confining the individual are physically more capable of enforcing their choices.  This happens most often in warring societies or in pre-adult households.  Again, as in the aforementioned child example, the child is physically unable to take care of him or herself, and as a result, anyone who is more physically powerful can forcibly choose for the child.  And as such, the care-giver may or may not acknowledge or even recognize the mental fortitude and intelligence of the child’s choices.  This is the essence of mental confinement.

Mental Confinement

Mental confinement is when an individual is not mentally prepared for choice, and is therefore inadequate in assessing the right to choose for oneself.  In this case, the individual has been taught or has learned patterns that make him or her ill-equipped for understanding that he or she has the option to choose.  This is certainly not the exception, but the rule in human society.  Because we are taught by our predecessors, our pattern in life in general becomes mental confinement, since their pattern was mental confinement.  By this rule, we humans often don’t even consider another option, because we literally have no mental choice in the matter! 

For example, in the aforementioned college example, the individual may consider another option of not going to school, but because of mental confinement, the individual may feel as if that option is not really an option.  This mental confinement is the most damaging, as one has to break a lifelong pattern just to be open to choice again.

Mental Confinement = Fear

Mental confinement is a frightening place to be for us humans.  We have to first acknowledge that we are confined, and then we have to decide whether or not we want to keep living in confinement, and finally, we have to decide how to maneuver after our initial acknowledgement.  What makes this so difficult and frightening is that we don’t even really believe we are confined – we think confinement is normal, and that choice is abnormal; however, the former is not the case.

Mental confinement breaks society.  We are often taught to fear choice, because thinking as an individual promotes disorder, when quite the contrary is true.  We are living in the pattern where we actually forego the option of recognizing that no one is safe from confinement!  We often forget that we humans are born into physical confinement!  For example, we think that once an individual has a physical choice, he or she automatically cannot be confined; but, since he or she is mentally confined (because it is such a frightening place to be), it is not a matter of choice until the mental confinement is broken (by the individual).  This occurs most often in issues pertaining to judgment.

This happens so often that we make assumptions about other individuals who are different from us for no reason at all.  While it is true that at some age or some point in an individual’s life he or she can chose, it is almost impossible with mental confinement already set in place.  As such, we impose our beliefs upon others, with hopes they will convert to one that is preferable and comfortable to us.  It is not our job to focus on others’ beliefs or life choices, as long as it does not directly violate our physical and mental choices.  Our mental choices are our own, and so as long as we are not physically confined by another, we are truly free.  We can also look to the animal kingdom for inspiration, as they are mentally free to choose, and it is us who have confined them physically to fit our comfort zone. 

Saying such things as “sit,” and “beg” to a trained dog is not much different than telling a child where he or she can go to school, or what to wear, other than the fact that the dog is not mentally equipped to rationalize at the level of a human.  The only option to be rid of bondage is to choose one’s self for oneself.  Choosing one’s self as a means of focus is more liberating than the unhealthy alternative of living through the confinement of another.

Choice = Freedom

I didn’t choose to be Shira (not that I don’t accept Shira, but nonetheless, I didn’t choose to be her).  I didn’t choose my name, my parents, my school district, my home, my race, my nationality, my brother, or my religion.  But at a certain point, I realized I could choose certain things.  I could go to a different school.  I could move.  I could believe something different.  Most importantly, I could believe in myself for all that I was and all I was to become.  I could be the different girl.  I could be the one to accept people for who they did not choose to be yet were anyway.  I could choose not to treat my man differently, simply because we came from opposite socio-economic backgrounds, and no one else chose to understand love without limitations.  I could choose not to judge or blame other individuals for their lives, and how they lived them.  It wasn’t their fault they were taught racism.  It wasn’t their fault they believed something different than me, simply because they were born into it and I wasn’t!  And since none of us had a say in the matter, who of us could judge and say they should be the one to change?  Are we whole yet?  Are we at peace and full of love and joy?  Until I am, I can not choose for anyone but me. 

We have a choice.  We are born into physical confinement, we develop as mentally confined beings, and we have to find our way back to choice.  We do not have to hurt or kill one another just to display dominance – we have a choice to be free.  Displaying dominance through confinement merely displays identification with our ego and thus, a propensity to judge.  The only way to God and to freedom is through choice.  Choose yourself.  Choose your life…now.

Peace and Peace.

Some Changes...

Hello, All-

I've got just a couple of changes to implement for the "new year," and also, to clarify some things you may see in the blog.

First, if you see any words in red from now on, that merely indicates a word I will be defining for the purpose of the blog.  They are highlighted as such to help tie my main points together.

Next, you will see subheadings that will be underlined.  Again, as I am getting more verbose in my blogs, I want to make certain paragraphs more defined.

Last, you may notice my blogs becoming more lengthy, and I may even begin implementing charts, diagrams, and the like into my blogs.  My aim eventually is to make a superblog (i.e. book).  What I am doing now is placing more value on every aspect of my life.  I want to treat each piece of my life with purpose.  What better way to place value on oneself than to place a high level of importance on each and every thing one does?  Well, by treating this blog with the care of a term paper (lol), I hope to get the same level of care out of it.  I hope you don't mind reading, because some of these blogs are going to be lengthy.  I will do my best to make them more interesting.  The style of my blogs may even begin to vary as I develop them more.

Thank you, as usual, for tuning in.  I have a lot to offer you this year, and as soon as my technological life is back in order, you will see it manifest on every level.

Peace and Peace

Fame: A Worldly Posession

When I first started YouTube, I wanted a lot of subscribers.  Not necessarily to be “famous,” but I wanted recognition for my talents, because it would reiterate what I already knew: I was a force with which to be reckoned.  Recently, I have been really pondering over the notion of fame.  When I think about it, fame is nothing more than an unhealthy obsession, like any other, with the exception that it encourages the desensitization of “self.”  Although certain “famous” people do not grant the permission for a “fan” to be obsessed, it is taught, like so many other vices of society, one should seek something outward in order to become fulfilled.

The reason I began pondering the notion of fame, is because I started to see how “worldly objects” created disconnectedness between one’s identified self, and one’s true self.  I would like to take this time to define the term “worldly objects” as anything with which one is not inherently born (i.e. money, cars, houses, etc.).  I began to realize that although I did not want for worldly objects, I wanted fame.  As time continued, and I began evolving, I started to realize I didn’t want fame, either, but I was concerned as to why I would want fame in the first place.

I noticed that although people can justify fame, they still have a hard time discerning judgment of fame with regards to other worldly objects.  In various religions, we are taught not to be “of the world,” yet people idolize and praise leaders in a way that promotes fame.  When this started happening to me, I realized I didn’t feel “good.”  I felt “bad.” (Sidebar: I use quotations to express the terms “good” and “bad,” because I feel that neither exists.  Only “what is” exists, but for lack of better concrete terms, I will use “good” and “bad” henceforth with the same intention).  Basically, I realized I felt bad to have fame, and I felt this way, because it wasn’t of SELF; fame was another worldly object.

The reason fame is a worldly object is because it creates desire (or by example) this idea of judgment (both positive and negative) as a means of fulfillment.  In other words, if no one “likes me” or if everyone “likes me,” then I know how I feel about myself.  In my ever continuing quest for this higher SELF, I realized I had to let go of this intangible worldly object.  I had to realize that any comment, idea, opinion, or any judgment about me for that matter, was “of the world,” simply because it wasn’t of my SELF.  The very definition of the word self prohibits and completely obliterates anything that is not generated from within!  Thus, whatever you don’t proclaim isn’t!  Isn’t that something?

Fame is technically “ok” with a lot of folks with whom I’ve made acquaintance, yet, is it so simply because it doesn’t come in a tangible form?  I’m very pro-SELF, which means I am very supportive of what one feels one should do.  I do not subscribe to the idea that one needs anything outside one’s own SELF.  We come into and leave this world with one thing: SELF.  Our creator can vouch for that!  So, just because one cannot see fame, does not mean that one should want for it. 

In conclusion, I encourage you (and me) to truly get to know what the SELF wants, and feed it.  Let fulfillment be guided by the heart and not the mind (or anything outside of that SELF).  Sometimes, you may not recognize what you want simply because you have not searched for it, but no one defines you but you.  If you know you are a force with which to be reckoned, you need no reinforcement!  You already know it, so what more do you need?  Find SELF, find God, find fulfillment. 

Peace and Peace.

“WOW”! Presence at Last (And Lots of Informality and Smiles)

Let me start this blog post informally: “Ya’ll, all I can say is, ‘WOW’!”

The aforementioned saidJ, I really wanted to dedicate this post to my creator.  I have been literally dying to be reborn.  Day in and out, I had been praying, crying, and quite frankly, confused. 

There was once a time when I knew who I was.  I had to find myself after an abusive relationship and a rocky suburban scholastic adventure.  I had to be alone and new, because my ex-abuser owned the rights to my soul.  He would strip me of all that I could have possibly cherished about myself…so I felt.  The truth was, I just didn’t know or love myself enough to fight for myself, and I became an enabler.  And, although the point of this particular post is not to victimize myself, or even to mention this situation, it was crucial that all of me was destroyed, so that I could start over and find the girl who was underneath the rubble.

When I say I “found myself,” I am merely referring to the idea that one has a true nature, and that one does not know it in the midst of the worldly and outwardly influences (most often), yet, I forced myself to go against those influences.  I did this little by little.  First, I dispelled any myths I learned in this abusive relationship.  Next, I didn’t allow any relationship into my life that was not healthy.  I “found” that I liked who I was naturally, and that my personal salvation was more important than anything else.  So, I did what “found” soul would do – I moved to New York and went for “mine.”  J

New York killed me.  New York destroyed me.  I thought I was happy.  I thought I knew what I wanted, but New York showed me a world far beyond that of my abusive relationship.  

For nearly four years now, I have been pulled, pushed, and beaten by a “friggin’” apple!  Without getting into detail, my hiatus (or many hiatuses), was caused by this world of confusion.  And even though I knew who I was, it knocked me down.  I became more confused.  I didn’t understand how I could be so confused after all that triumph.  I found my soul mate.  I found my perfect city.  I found the perfect “profession.”  “Why, me, God?” I would ask.

I lived in darkness for a long time.  I cried a lot more than I did even when abused.  I wanted to die every day.  Yet, I prayed so hard to get Shira back.  “Why, God, can’t you just give me peace?  If that is all I want, why can’t I have it?  Did I really know Shira, or was she a lie?”  The answer to all these questions was simple: I had all the answers.

I knew this in my heart.  In a way that cannot be articulated, I just knew.  I knew I had found myself once, and I also knew that I was stuck, and needed something else to move.  I knew that I needed to let go of my mind.  In other words, I needed to let the apple envelop me, and kill me.  But I was afraid to die.

***Informal Moment Alert***

Ya’ll, who wants to die?  It’s scary to die!  But we ain’t afraid to die spiritually, we are afraid to die physically!  I realized that I was afraid to die spiritually!  And I realize all this is really figurative and abstract, but try to stay with me here.  I had gone beyond my physical body.  I got so beat up in my mind with all the sadness I experienced, that I didn’t care about my physical self.  I was actually concerned with my mental (i.e. spiritual) self.  Then, the epiphany came!

***Back to the Blog***

 I had to let myself die spiritually, so that I would not be afraid of death…in any sense.  The real death that we experience physically is so fake!  I mean, it is truly an illusion.  We aren’t imprisoned in this body – we are imprisoned in our mind!  Are we afraid to get our face sliced open and feel the pain?  Sure….but I’d be willing to bet we are much more afraid of being “hurt” by another human being.  Why is that?  Because the mind is where the pain is!  The lasting, eternal, formidable pain is in the mind! 

I then asked for this “presence” of which is often spoken.  The Buddha, The Christ, and many other spiritual leaders to this date speak of “presence” as the gateway to peace, love, and joy. 

At the time of my spiritual breakdown, I needed that.  I wanted it.  And I asked relentlessly for it.  I knew (again, in that unarticulated way) that it was the true key.  For me, at least, I had battled in every other fight.  I just needed that piece.  So, I went to my hypnotherapist.

I’d gone to this lady (Mary Casaba) twice before, and somehow, she unlocked my mind from two unhealthy relationships.  I thought, surely, she’d get me this presence for which I yearned.  And I waited.

About a month later, I found myself in the hospital.  I had anxiety so bad I literally did not sleep.  And, as many viewers know, my hair had been falling out.  I will elaborate upon this later, but basically, I left my spiritual self there, and after that, I was reborn!  I had died!  I let myself die, finally!  I did it! 

I don’t know how everyone else does it, but as the saying goes in the “hood,” “Do what you got to do,” or, as the late Malcolm X would say, “By any means necessary.”  And, thank you, God, I got my self back, I am present, and, the only word to articulate my presence, is, “WOW!”

My relationship with “Babydaddy” is on some whole “next level you can’t understand it only he and I have this crazy connection but we can’t even explain it” type of deal, simply because I am present.  Wow.  I will get onto this subject on my videos much later, but I really want this for all of humanity, because, now, I realize my bond with the other beings of life, and we all deserve this feeling.

Get your own back.  Take care of yourSELF.  You will find eventually the want for only the spiritual world.  I no longer want fame.  I don’t seek money.  I don’t even ask for anything, but I just get it.  It is something that can only be described as… WOW.  Follow your inner guide…it is God speaking to you.  And resist as you may, if you seek it, you will one day just let the death happen, and you will be so grateful.  I love you, and if any way I can assist you in your journey, I totally will J

Peace and Peace.

Getting through Life: Two Mountains and a Valley

Lately, I’d been trying to stay afloat in life, feeling like I was constantly drowning.  All of a sudden, I had an epiphany, or, as Oprah says, an “Aha!” moment.  What if I am not meant to stay afloat at all?  What if I’m supposed to drown?  As these thoughts came to me, the quickest analogy upon which I became fixated was that of two mountains and a valley.

We are born “at the top” of one mountain.  Think of the top of a mountain as your being at your freest, happiest, and most peaceful.  What is the primary goal in life?  Getting to the top of the other mountain.  When we are born, we are fully at peace, and fully innocent.  We know not of war, fear, or pain.  Perhaps we know of physical pain, but at that time, it is transient at best.  At this age, time is insignificant, and we have no choices – Not when we are born, not what we can eat, not which religion of which we are a part – NOTHING is a choice at this point.  So how do we get to the top of the next mountain?

Unfortunately, we very quickly begin learning what we are taught – our language, our religion, and even our personality.  We have to learn, because otherwise, we’d be put out!  Many of us learn abuse.  Whether we want to or not, remember, we do not choose.  So, automatically, we begin our descent down the first mountain.  And, we do not go quietly, might I add.  We go with resistance, because it is only natural to stay on top of our mountain…in fact, we are pushed off the mountain!  Once we are pushed (by society and family), we fall.  And as we fall, we resist, but, since we are already falling, we can do nothing about it. 

Society teaches us that we should be on top of a mountain, but what it forgets all too often, is that it pushes us off in the first place!  So if we should be on top of the mountain, then we should know how to get onto the next one after we fall (technically speaking).  Resistance to this free fall makes us fall longer, and hit the valley between the two even harder. 

Think of the valley as “rock bottom” – this is the place referred to with many drug counselors for addicts, but it applies to everyone.  The truth is everyone has a rock bottom, because everyone is pushed.  It is only the enlightened of us who realize what their rock bottom is, and the ascended of us who decide to climb the next mountain.

Many are too naïve to realize that there is a rock bottom, and lie too much to themselves to realize when they’ve hit it.  This is not a verbal attack on anyone, nor is it an “I’m better than anyone” approach.  But I must say, I’ve been blessed to hit rock bottom!  The reality is, finally, I stopped resisting the fall, and realized that if I want to get to the top, I’ve got to fall! 

I think this allowance to fall is a bit of a misleading situation, because it is often perceived as an act of “patience” or “obedience.”  I really believe that falling willfully is neither patience nor obedience, but simply, truth.  Truth means understanding that there is nothing wrong with the fall, even though society leads one to believe otherwise.  And, the reality is, that the only ones who are truly “crazy” or “abnormal” believe they should stay on top of the first mountain, with nothing to gain.  They may not even realize there is another mountain.   They do this not because they live in their truth, but in society’s lies. All of this is a way of holding society back from the eventual realization that trial and tribulation is perfectly normal, and falling is what happens as a result.  Getting to the top of the second mountain is just as difficult as falling, though.

Climbing an actual mountain takes skill.  It takes practice and agility.  No one can climb a mountain from scratch.  Everyone has to do a practice run at the very least.  Here’s the clincher – if one gives up too easily at this climb, then one falls back, unwillingly, to rock bottom.  Only the enlightened thinker realizes that like any other obstacle, practice and preparation is needed, and without either, falling is inevitable (again and again).  To reach the top, one must practice, and realize that practice makes perfect.

I have hit rock bottom.  I know my truth.  I have fallen back many times.  But I have awakened, and I realize that my muscles are getting stronger.  I know the course now.  I have begun so many times to climb the second mountain it is only a matter of time before I master it.  I have to choose to master it, and furthermore, I have to realize with resistance comes a difficult fall.  And one cannot get up from a difficult fall and expect to be strong enough to complete the course without enlightenment. 

So, I say to you all, the way I have to tell myself: Fall if you are falling.  And keep climbing if you are already climbing.  But climb with the knowledge that you may fall.  And fall with the knowledge that you should “fall if you are falling,” and are free to climb after you fall.  These are the tools needed to succeed.  Let’s not try staying afloat this time if we are sinking.  Sinking is a part of the process, and without it, we’d be perfect.  But in an imperfect world, what do we have to gain if we are already perfect?  Nothing.  So let us fall with the knowledge that it is not only okay, but necessary in earning our right to eventual perfection.  We will ascend.  We will reach the top of the next mountain.

Peace and Peace.

Grace in the Courtroom: How to Pick YourSELF Up from Darkness

Whenever we’re down, or at least, whenever I’m down, I usually want comfort, but not advice.  When I really think about it, other people’s advice is like loud noise, whereas comfort is like pure silence.  The sadness I experience in life is sometimes so loud, that I just want people to listen, and the act of listening comforts me.  When people give their advice, sometimes, I realize how little they know about me, and the advice rarely “hits the mark.”  Either way, when I include other people’s judgment into the equation, I rarely feel fully satisfied.  At those times, I realize being alone with God is key to my healing.

The other day, I had a moment where I felt truly alone.  I wanted advice, but I knew I may not have the strength to follow the potential advice that was given.  So, as an instinctive “Cancer” move, I ran.  I ran to Riverside Park, and I sat for four hours – alone.   An hour later, I walked for three hours – alone again.  It appeared that in all that silence, I wouldn’t be able to hear a thing, but the reality was, because I was alone, I could hear everything.

I realized we rarely force ourselves (albeit a blanketed observation) to be alone and think.  What “being alone” and “thinking” truly does, is allows God’s energy take over.  Since there isn’t the confusion of advice that is ill-suited for our individual journey, we can actually hear clearly to apply directions specifically.

It’s not that some miraculous booming voice-over comes from the swathing clouds, but really, our own opinion begins to count for something.  We actually ask ourselves questions, and give ourselves a chance to answer.  What we realize is that we become our own courtroom; Our own judge.  We play out all sides of the story, because we are desperate to find some semblance of truth within our misery.  We have an unyielding need to find an answer that helps us get over the pain.  And what we find is we do come to a conclusion – if we allow ourselves the grace to forgive ourselves. 

When we sit alone, we have to find a way to deal with our situation, so that we do not come back to it broken.  We frantically want an answer, but are not patient or affable enough to simply let go, and forgive ourselves.  Of what do we need to forgive ourselves?  We need to forgive ourselves for being who we are in that moment.  We are in darkness because we have acted in a certain way, but have regret, anger, pity, or a slew of false emotions that we use to punish ourselves for behaving in that way.  And, in a last ditch effort to find the answer (judgment) or to find the guilty party (us or the other person/situation with whom we have interacted), we flee, hoping to find out where to place the blame.

Ultimately, the judge is God, and in the moment of silence, we represent that judge.  The main time we are given allowance to judge is when we are alone!  This is because the only voice in our head besides our own is God’s voice, and so, by virtue of process of elimination, we are the judge of ourselves!  And because we are the judge, we can opt to both forgive our self and the other person.  Very rarely does one sit alone and come back broken…as long as the individual gives their self a fair chance and sufficient time to come to a conclusion.

So, as I go out into the world, I have made this vow:  When in true doubt or despair, I must go be alone in my courtroom.  I must play out the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s sides equally, and I must give my court a fair amount of time to decide the verdict.  I realize in a real court of law, the jury may deliberate for months…so, for as long as it takes for that particular case, I will treat it as a real court of law.  When I come to my verdict, it shall be fair, and most of all, gracious! 

WE will come out victors, because in this court, even the “guilty” are given a chance to be treated fairly. 

Peace and Peace.

Faith: Gratitude for the Future

One facet of “writing it down” that I often seem to forget about, is being grateful. 

Gratitude has an easy textbook definition: [appreciating benefits received].  But, if you notice, the definition is in the past tense.  So, by inference, you can only be grateful after a benefit has been given.   I certainly remember to thank God when I have received a benefit, but what happens when you write something down, and you are hopeful for it, but it doesn’t happen?

As many of you know, my first book club recommendation is Write it Down, Make it Happen, by Henriette Anne Klauser.  And, like many passionate authors, Klauser is thorough – thorough enough to point out the “whys” that occur when something written down doesn’t happen.

Sometimes, the faith that we have in the future, is dramatically defined by the knowledge of the past.  We may have been abused, but by virtue of life experience, we now understand the reason for that abuse, and we become grateful for it.  Yet, in our current circumstance, we may get abused again, but cannot find our way out.  So, in frantic hopes that God will do his “magic,” we write down our vision of being freed from this abuse.  And, in a funny turn of events, we don’t receive reprieve from the abuse.  Why? 

Perhaps the retroactive gratitude displays a wavering faith.  Perhaps true faith lies in the “knowledge” of the future.  Perhaps we so often over-identify with the knowledge of the past, that we forget to acknowledge that which has not yet been given, and in turn, our dreams do not become a reality.

By acknowledging the benefit before it is given, we are stepping off a cliff onto a platform that doesn’t exist [yet]. We are saying that we know our feet will have a place to rest even though we cannot physically see it.  And by being grateful for something that has yet to appear, we are showing faith.

Let me articulate this point further: I am not saying that the platform (per say) will appear as we know it (i.e. the minute we step off the cliff), but it will appear.  For example – we may step off of a cliff, thanking God in advance for the platform.  But because we are truly faithful, we fall several feet before our feet land on a stretch of earth.  We do not become caught up in the illusion that we are falling, and perhaps will plummet to our death.  Or that perhaps during the long fall, we will be scathed and injured.  Instead, because we are truly grateful for and focus on the outcome, the outcome appears, albeit differently than we can conceive with our humanly mind.

The point is, retroactive gratitude isn’t necessarily gratitude at all – it’s just an experience that we are happy to have been given!  Since we have already seen how God moves in our lives, we aren’t showing knowledge of the unseen, because we already saw it!   Of course we are grateful.  We know that it happened for sure!  On the flip side, living out our futures gratefully, we are practicing faith in the truest form, and believing in the unseen.  We don’t know how it’s going to happen, but we know the outcome, because we feel confident enough to be grateful for the “unknown”.

So, let us write in gratitude, as Klauser points out.  Let’s be thankful before the act has occurred.  Let us know the outcome.  As far as I am concerned, it seems the only time I receive in abundance is when I am grateful for the unknown.

Write it down, be grateful, make it happen.

Peace and Peace.