Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 364 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Gratitude is Thanks on Steroids

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 364 of our trek, and yesterday we finished a 25-day detailed series called Your Life Plan Blueprint. Today and for the next couple of days, we will reflect on completing a full year of daily treks as we approach the end of May. As I reflect, it is with an abundance of gratitude to you as we have shared this year of treks together.

Before we get started on this new trek, I want to remind you that the initial release of our 100 page Your Life Plan Blueprint manual/workbook, and it is available for download at Wisdom-Trek.com on the left-hand sidebar of any page. Or, if you are listening on your smartphone, you can text the word LifePlan (with no spaces) to 44222, and Your Life Plan Blueprint will be delivered to you in an email. The manual/workbook is free during the month of May, so I would encourage you to become one of our early adopters so that all updates will be available to you for free also. By the end of 2016, we will have a complete web/mobile version available of Your Life Plan Blueprint.

If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeart Radio, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Much to our chagrin the deer deterrent stakes were not effective and Friday we discovered that all the blooms on the two rose bushes, and two Impatiens planters were all eaten by the deer. The plants will be fine and survive, and we are thankful that we did not set out all of the plants. We put one more test planter out on Saturday night with moth balls in the planter to see if they are effective. Our day on Saturday of clean up and renovation projects in and around The Big House was very productive, and we made some good progress.

After receiving good feedback from our fellow trekkers and based on the related projects that are planned we will be making a change in Wisdom-Trek starting June 1^st. We will be releasing new Wisdom-Trek themed episodes three days a week, which will be Motivation Mondays, Wisdom Wednesdays, and Philosophy Fridays. The episodes may be slightly longer than in the past, but still short enough to consume easily in one session. Making this adjustment starting June 1^st will allow us to invest the time needed to release the Wisdom-Trek monthly journals, create the online version of Your Life Plan Blueprint and roll out our new platform Christian Podcasting Network. We also have additional exciting projects in the planning stages that I will announce later.

 

For today, it is time to head out on a three-day trek of reflection from this past year of Wisdom-Trek. Today our trail will reflect on gratitude and the privilege of serving you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

Gratitude Is Thanks on Steroids

As I reflect on completing a full year of Wisdom-Trek at the end of May, I started thinking about gratitude, past the mere words “Thank you.” Way past. I went to the second definition of gratitude in the dictionary, the one that says, “… readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”

Being grateful, feeling grateful, and acting grateful are three different things.

Being grateful can just be an intellectual act. For example, I’m grateful for whoever invented traffic lights that keep us safe. I am grateful, really, but quite frankly, I don’t have any feelings about that.

Many people will say gratitude is an emotion. Feeling grateful humbles us and allows us to appreciate something or someone in our lives. For example, especially during this Memorial Day weekend in the United States, I feel grateful for those in the military that paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country. I have good, positive feelings about the men and women who died for our freedoms.

Gratitude may have emotion tied to it, but I’ve always thought of it as a choice, which results in an action. Acting grateful is taking the time to let someone know that they’ve made a difference in our lives. It’s showing through our actions that we don’t take special people and things for granted; it’s the act of returning the kindnesses that have been given to us. It is this choice that I must emphatically proclaim the gratitude that I have for you. I appreciate that you have taken your precious time to come along with me on our Wisdom-Trek. Whether you joined me for one day or have faithfully trekked with me for the past 365 days, thank you!

As I reflect on gratitude, let us explore a little deeper into what it means. Gratitude is good for both parties in all kinds of relationships. The continual gratitude I have for Paula and for all that she does for me in our marriage. I choose as often as possible to express my gratitude in both word and my actions. She certainly does the same to me. Our gratitude for each other helps to maintain and strengthen our love for each other…Even after nearly 37 years of marriage, our gratitude for each other grows each day.

Gratitude is especially beneficial in marriages. Researcher Dolores R. Leckey writes that, “Gratitude leads to many other ‘virtues’ like laughter and fun, compassion and mercy.” Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Ph.D., professor of psychology in affective sciences, found a strong correlation between one’s own felt and expressed gratitude and marriage satisfaction. She concludes that, “truly felt gratitude toward a partner may be portrayed in nonverbal cues and in reciprocal actions…both of which could result in higher marriage satisfaction.” I can certainly back up this research in our marriage.

Researchers at U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center have found many links between gratitude and happiness. It seems that positive emotions about one thing simply make us feel better about everything. But, in order to get the benefits, we have to actively practice generating those positive emotions.

Whether by verbalizing it in thank you notes, keeping a gratitude journal, or letting the people who touch our lives know they’ve made a difference, practicing gratitude benefits everyone involved. The greatest gift you can give to everyone on a daily basis is expressing your gratitude for them.  Choose to be grateful for everything today. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter in Thessalonians 5:15-18, “See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

As we wrap up the final three days of a full year of Wisdom-Trek, once again I want to thank you for coming along with me each day. Let us all learn to choose gratitude and then show it with our words and actions. Tomorrow we will continue to reflect on our time together, so encourage your friends and family to join us. Then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!