How do you know you’re ready for more? You might be thinking that depends on the “what.” We all say we are ready for more money, time and love. Does it really matter what the “more” is if we haven’t truly appreciated the “what” that it is at the moment?
There is a passage from one of my favorite books that says “Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy). I have referred to this many times throughout my life, working to understand its meaning more fully.
Recently I was enjoying a delicious steak. It was the perfect temperature, tender, and flavorful. I noticed I was sort of devouring it. I thought I was enjoying it yet craving more at the same time. Then it occurred to me I was adding another piece of the meat to my mouth before I was even finished chewing the piece I had! A wonderful metaphor was revealing itself as the aforementioned passage came to mind. Was I expressing gratitude for the piece I was already chewing? Was I enjoying it fully? Or was I too busy thinking that I was enjoying it while obviously wanting more? This can imply a lack of genuine satisfaction or gratitude for what is.
Can we actually really receive more than we are ready for anyway? Like the example of food, you can have an entire buffet of decadent, beautiful and tasty things to choose from, but you will only be able to consume so much. If you just kept consuming you would eventually feel miserable, bloated, perhaps fatigued or ill. You certainly wouldn’t be prepared to receive more.
“There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it.” — Napoleon Hill
It’s the same with relationships, work, love and life. If you don’t appreciate and value what is right in front of you, the buffet that is available won’t matter, because you won’t be prepared to add more value to these areas of your life. You will continually be thinking that you like what you have, but you will not feel satisfied, and will always be looking for the next thing before you even finish enjoying what you have or what you’re doing. I’m not saying not to strive for more or grow. There is an abundance of opportunity available. I am saying that it’s like putting one foot in front of the other. Take each step. Feel each step. Notice every action and movement. Appreciate each person, conversation, idea, activity or action that leads you to the next person, conversation, idea, activity or action. That’s gratitude. That is preparing for what is to come next.
All that we could ever need or want is available to us. The individual path we take may vary or differ from the path of others, but the same things are available to us all. Think of life as a fountain that is continually pouring out its water. If you stood under the pouring water you could savor the coolness, the vitality of the pressure, the nourishment and hydration it provides. However, you will not be able to catch all of the water at once as it continually pours forth. If you tried taking it all in you could drown from too much consumption, or pressure pushing you down. You can enjoy what it provides, and you can try to contain some of it by filling containers, but you won’t be able to have it all, all at once. You can get what you need incrementally, though. One step at at time.
“You cannot make someone understand a message they are not ready to receive.” — The Mind Journal
One example of practicing to appreciate where you are and what you have is thinking about it in reverse. I’ll use health as the example. When you are healthy and fit, most people take for granted their ability to move, breathe, function and eat. When struggling with a health issue, most people have to be more deliberate in their choices and actions. If you are used to walking without thinking about it, and all of a sudden you break a leg, or a toe, you can’t move as easily or quickly. Each step and action is a milestone to get to the next one in order to move or do a normal activity—like taking a shower or bath—whereas before you just did it without thinking about it. It was simply taken for granted.
Make it a daily practice to choose one thing you do each day without thinking about it. The exercise is to pause and notice your abilities. Then break it down and become aware of each step it takes to actually fulfill it. Be thankful for each element, each noticing. This could be anything from getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, getting dressed or making a meal. Think about the extra effort it would take if you were physically impaired in any way. Feel gratitude for your abilities. This will prepare you to receive more.
“Most people have the will to win. Few have the will to prepare to win.” — Bobby Knight
