Today, Sunday 25th November 2007, I walked round the neighbourhood at about 10.30 p.m.

I did not meet a single soul en route and only three cars passed by. I am grateful that this neighbourhood is so quiet and the only hazard are the cars that treat Clarendon Way as if it was Brands Hatch.

There are so many things we can be thankful for and gratitude can bring about the things we are grateful for even if we haven’t yet received them.

However, I have many things to be grateful for already:

I have a great house with quiet and pleasant neighbours on both sides.

I am retired and can head for bed whenever I feel like it. I am grateful that I still have a sister and brother alive and a step brother as well.

I had some new students come to my martial arts class last week who were keen enough to stay on for extra training.

I am grateful for my most recent photograph which makes me looks younger than the previous photograph! My brother even described it as ‘cool.’ You can see it if you click on this link:

http://www.motivationtoday.com/biography.php

I thank God that my house is full of fascinating books, videos and dvd’s and I have my own gym to train in.

I have realized that I need to double the amount of walking I am currently doing. I only go for one walk usually and probably need to do at least two to achieve more goals.

I find that walking clears the mind and helps me to achieve more of my goals at much greater speed. Exercise of any kind can have that affect on people.

If I did more than two walks a day accompanied by prayer and thanksgiving I could probably begin to expect miracles.

If I did seven walks a day like Joshua round the walls of Jericho I could be confident that any obstacles that block my way would collapse.

In any event I am grateful that I can walk as much and as often as I like. Who knows what might happen?!

Stay tuned!

Today, Sat 24th Nov 2007, I walked round the neighbourhood on a beautifully cold and freezing morning.

I could only see blackbirds, one pigeon and, when I returned home, a couple of sparrows drinking from a small puddle on a table in my back garden.

On November 22nd, it was Thanksgiving Day in the USA. What a great bequest from the Pilgrim Fathers although the local turkeys might not be too thankful!

My stepbrother had a somewhat feeble joke for me about the fact that few of us are thankful for very long:

One man says to another: “What have you done for me?”
“I saved your life and helped you survive being bankrupt.”
“But what have you done for me recently?!”

In fact, if we are not thankful we damage ourselves more than the victims of our ingratitude.

If we are thankful, on the other hand, we focus our minds on the good things in our lives and on the good things we hope will come into our lives. If we are thankful with some emotion and take some action, more good things will enter our lives.

We will attract what we think about and thank about as John Martini has said in the film ‘The Secret’. We can also be thankful about some things that might not seem particularly pleasant as the following poem by an unknown author suggests:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

Even the England soccer team who have just lost to Croatia and have not qualified for the European Cup next year can be thankful that soccer in the UK will now come under close scrutiny.

If they had won and qualified many current problems would have been swept under the carpet. A new set up and a new manager might bring benefits which will make defeat seem like victory in the long run.

Today, 17th November 2007, I noticed a fox in the back garden scratching itself. I took several photos through a small window in the back door before it wandered off looking somewhat depressed.

I later walked round the neighbourhood briskly inspired by the cold weather and by the sight on TV of Australia’s prime minister doing his morning power walk surrounded by comedians.

One of the women comedians offered him some ‘election viagra’ to give him a lift in the polls. He is not doing too well at the moment.

He did not look too happy when surrounded with the comedians who seize the opportunity for publicity afforded by his daily power walk.

You have to give up privacy when you become a politician. His rival who is doing well in the polls was filmed sticking his finger into his ear and then into his mouth presumably eating the wax he had discovered in his ear!

Apparently this close up did not affect his ratings in the slightest. Australians are a tough lot and probably considered his behaviour to be reasonably acceptable!

I was also motivated to walk by the need to post a cheque before the noon post. Deadlines are a great way to get oneself on the move.

You can even pretend to yourself that you have a deadline when you haven’t! This will not work for everyone!

My brisk walking resulted in a slight sweat. I was reminded of the TV series ‘The Tudors’. When the plague called the ’sweating sickness’ hit London, King Henry followed the advice of his doctor.

He had been advised to eat good, wholesome food and to follow the example of a man who believed he had fought off the sickness by exercising each night until he broke sweat.

In one scene, Henry wakes up terrified in case he is going down with the plague. He leaps out of bed and does several fast and energetic pushups.

He then stands up and runs vigorously on the spot until he breaks sweat! Tired but relieved, he returns to bed.

No one will ever know if this is what saved Henry from the plague but the doctor’s advice remains good advice right up to modern times.

Eat good food and exercise intensely until you break sweat!

The doctor had also stated that many who fell ill did so entirely because of the fear of falling ill.

Today, Monday 12th November 2007, I walked round the neighbourhood.

I found several rocket sticks in the front and back garden. November 5th, Guy Fawkes’ day, has expanded into about two weeks.

I am surprised that you never hear how a rocket stick hits someone in the eye. People are looking up, like King Harold at the battle of Hastings, and you’d expect someone, at least, to be hit in the eye just as he was.

I met a brown cat at the roundabout where Kevington Drive meets Wimbourne Avenue. The cat looked left and right to avoid the traffic and even took note of my presence. It was definitely streetwise!

My ezine article met with some enthusiastic response last week. The article summed up Randy Rausch’s last lecture. He knows he has not long to live because of terminal cancer and decided to share what he had learned in 47 years about how to achieve your goals and dreams.

One key point he made was that when we set a goal, we usually have to face a brick wall before we can achieve that goal. The brick wall tests our determination. Many will give up but the golden boys and girls will break through the wall.

He also made the point that we should never give up since the best gold is found at the bottom of barrels of crap!