“The belief in the possibility (or probability) of happiness as a product of rational organization…is the heart of all Utopias.” ~Isaiah Berlin

Aahhh… the ideal home.  Is there such a thing?  Isn’t it funny how the house is always cleaner on the other side of the neighborhood?  Isn’t it also frustrating how the house is always more organized, or beautifully decorated, or more seemingly perfect on the other side of the street?  What an ideal home is for one family can be a total nightmare for another.  So, why all the comparison?

It is lack of understanding for one. When we don’t understand that we are all equals and each of us can have what we want we keep abundance from ourselves.  We all have a general understanding that God created this enormously abundant universe for you and for me.  Each of us is given the same charge, “to have dominion over all that is in the earth”.  If we think that we are not worthy or deserving of blessings we will not ask for them.  If we have false beliefs that we shouldn’t ask for too much because it would take from others or that other people deserve more blessings than you, then again, we are blocking abundance in our lives.

Lack of satisfaction with the self and what one owns is a huge problem in our world today. I recently read a profound quote that really puts gratitude into perspective. "What if you woke up this morning and only had the things you thanked Heavenly Father for yesterday?" (Unknown)  What would you have?  We are reminded in the Word, “..in every thing give thanks…” (1 Thess. 5: 18)  We are also promised many times that when we are grateful we receive more blessings.

What does all this have to do with you or me?  I’ve been living it.  I have had terribly difficult times in my life.  Sorrow. Depression. Grief.  I finally got tired of living in poverty…not just financial lack, but spiritual, mental, and physical as well.  When we feel we are lacking it’s hard to see abundance in other places.  Comparison is limiting and very depressing.  When I learned how to change my thinking and how I felt about my life then I began progressing forward by leaps and bounds.  Bigger blessings began appearing in my life because I was thankful for even the smallest of them all.

Every day when you wake up in your own paradise give thanks. Your home is your Utopia, your isle of love, peace, beauty and joy, if you let it be.  Live with gratitude and give thanks for even the smallest of blessings and watch your home bloom and your blessings grow.

Shiloah Baker

Editor-in-Chief

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