What I've Learned

2001

A number of years ago, the minister (Dr. Roger Teel) at the church I attend said, "It is better to want what you have than to have what you want." I found the statement so surprising, and at the time upsetting, that I wrote it down. I spent much of the next year with this thought at the center of my meditation and prayer. What I saw in my life at the time was unemployment, a mountain of debt and a fear of bankruptcy, a burning desire to be published and drawers full of rejection letters, and an overriding fear that things would never get better.

It is better to want what you have ... And so I began this terrifying and ultimately fabulous journey of noticing, really noticing what I had in my life. Wonderful children who were thriving in spite of our circumstances, a loyal and wonderful man who was my husband, supportive and caring friends, my health, my talent, a dog who always met me at the door with unconditional love, enough income to keep the wolf at the door on the outside, and so many other things that I simply had not noticed.

Amazingly, the more I focused on wanting what I already had, the more my troubles faded into the background. The more I was genuinely from-the-bottom-of-my-heart thankful for those things already present in my life, the more good came into my life. A terrific job opened up that solved the financial worries. I continued to write with renewed confidence and joy ... and I eventually sold that first novel, which was then followed by others. The more I saw how truly blessed my life is, the more blessed it became. The quote that follows sums up my journey beautifully.

If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself.
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

— Lao Tzu

What I've Learned... Archive

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