In Case of Rain

By Marcus M. Mottley, Ph.D.
www.SpeakTrain.com

Recent events in my life have served to re-emphasize to me the importance of constantly demonstrating faith and belief. I want to emphasize the action word ‘demonstrating’.

There have been many occasions when I have sought divine intervention, many instances when I have asked for celestial inspiration, and countless times when I have just plain prayed for help and assistance.

And in many of those instances when my prayers were answered I was caught unprepared and unready to take advantage of the very help that I had sought.

If this seems a somewhat philosophical, I hope the following story sheds some light and has the same effect on you that it had on me.

The fields were parched and brown from lack of rain, and the crops lay wilting from thirst. People were anxious and irritable as they searched the sky for any sign of relief. Days turned into arid weeks. No rain came.

The ministers of the local churches called for an hour of prayer on the town square the following Saturday. They requested that everyone bring an object of faith for inspiration.

At high noon on the appointed Saturday the townspeople turned out en masse, filling the square with anxious faces and hopeful hearts. The ministers were touched to see the variety of objects clutched in prayerful hands ... holy books, crosses, prayer beads and various other symbols of religious faith.

When the hour ended, as if on magical command, a soft rain began to fall steadily. Cheers swept the crowd as they held their treasured objects high in gratitude and praise. From the middle of the crowd one faith symbol seemed to overshadow all the others.

A small nine-year old child had brought an umbrella.

Are you ready for what may happen when your prayers are answered and divine intervention brings opportunity knocking at your door steps? For example, if you are seeking to be interviewed for that job of a lifetime, have you dusted off your resume, brushed up on the new jargon in your field, read the latest books and developed some new skills? Have you talked to other experts in the field and gained insights into what’s new and what’s old? And, have you practiced formulating answers to the tough questions that will likely be asked at your interview?

Are you ready for rain?

Marcus M. Mottley, Ph.D.
mpowerme@speaktrain.com
www.SpeakTrain.com

Do You Have “An Attitude of Gratitude”?

By Marcus M. Mottley, Ph.D.

“I am thankful to God for each story, each idea, each word… each day!” Isaac Bashevis

As I reflect on my personal journey of growth and development, I am ever mindful that I owe much to others. I stand on the shoulders of family members, teachers, friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers. Small gifts of kindness, advice or support at critical times helped to keep me journeying onwards. Such gifts are still powering the winds that help to keep me uplifted each and every day.

As I reflect on these small gifts – I know in my heart – that today would have been totally different without those gifts of yesterday, and tomorrow will be positively different from today: A tit-bit of advice that put me in sync with my internal desire to be a teacher; A one sentence comment that reframed worry into positive wonder and curiosity to take up my spiritual journey; A small envelope with less than $100 that – at the time – was a fortune because it came at the right time. That small gift was the ‘tipping’ point that helped me decide that I should “go for it”, “take the plunge”, leave home and attend college.

G. B. Stern says that, “Silent gratitude is not much help to anyone.” And, so I have been on a mission of finding all of my benefactors and thanking them for their help. Many have responded to me that they didn’t know and wasn’t aware of the impact of their assistance on me. Truth be told – I am only now coming to the fullest awareness of that myself.

And, it feels good to be sharing this with them.

What about you? Are you harboring “silent gratitude” in your heart?

According to Shakespeare, “Ingratitude is monstrous.” Several of my benefactors are persons whom I can very easily find great fault with – either for things in their public or private lives, or things they have said or done. And, sometimes I do critique them – directly and in person. Yet, I am always grateful – always publicly articulating and demonstrating my deepest appreciation for their support when I needed it. Though it might have been long in the past… theirs was a supportive and unhesitatingly given shoulder shared in the right place and at the right time.

• How are you demonstrating your gratitude for small acts of kindness?
• What are you doing to helping others in need?
• And, most importantly, what opportunities have you passed up to say, “Thank you” for a benevolent act?

Whether it happened yesterday or ten years ago, reach out with an attitude of gratitude.

“I am thankful for small mercies. I compared notes with one of my friends who expect everything of the universe, and is disappointed when anything is less than best.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Plant Seeds!

What kinds of seeds are you sowing in the fields of your mind?

‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ (Matthew, 13:31-32).

All of us sow seeds.

If you are in the garden or backyard, you can sow seeds of thorny shrubs, poisonous plants, or trees that bear life-sustaining fruits. However, some of our most important seeds are sown in the fields of our mind. When you ask questions they become like seeds. They will blossom and bear fruit. Depending on your questions, the fruits can be bitter or sweet. I believe that many of our problems occur when we sow the wrong seeds and ask the wrong questions of life. For example, we too often ask ‘why’ questions when we ought be asking ‘how’ questions. “How can I get out of this financial mess?” Rather than, “Why me?”

Plant seeds which will grow ideas, strategies, possibilities, and solutions to empower your life.

According to Dottie Walters, “Anyone can cut an apple open and count the number of seeds. But, who can look at a single seed and count the trees and apples? We cannot imagine that this small object is even alive. Yet when it is placed in the soil, a transformation process is started – one that gradually – in time, will nurture and give sustenance to humans, birds and insects.

The smallest question is also like a seed. When it is put in the fertile soil of your mind it contributes to your “tree” of knowledge – which will then produce many “fruits”. Yet when we look at the question (like the seed), we cannot see its mighty potential – a potential which lies hidden from casual observation.

Like seeds, your questions will blossom larger than life in the fields of your mind and in the acres of your life.

Caution: Be careful that you not sowing seeds of thorn trees, poisonous plants or parasitic vines in your mind! Ensure that you are sowing seeds of empowerment, creative, positive possibilities and success.

By asking the right questions in the right ways, you will be transformed beyond anything currently visible or even imaginable.

(From Ask, Seek, Knock! by Marcus Mottley, Ph.D.)