What’s wrong with people anyway? This is a bank, for heaven sakes. I was seated at one of those special service desks, giving some wire transfer information to the attendant. He was bouncing around the bank with digital camera in hand, showing pictures of his baby niece, in a voice loud enough to rattle the pictures on the wall—I thought so.  

Haven’t you been on a plane where some jerk talks on a cell phone, telling the entire cabin how wonderful he is? He orders his secretary to make sure the shipment goes out today, or millions of dollars will be at stake—to make reservations for him at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and send him confirmation on his Blackberry? Well this guy in the bank was the ultimate.

He went from teller to teller, engaging them in loud conversation, bragging about his niece this, his niece that. He came straight toward me, looking like he wanted to stop and talk. I refused to make eye contact. He moved to the next desk where a customer was doing some private business with an attendant. He interrupted the attendant with a “Hey, how you doing,” grabbed her head and kissed her in her hair! He engaged the customer himself in conversation.

Our digital camera guy was so happy, bouncing and bubbling, I finally had to say to myself: “Okay, a crazy person is born everyday, so let me just leave him and focus on my transaction” As I tried to pay attention to my own business, I couldn’t avoid overhearing the content of his conversation.What I heard made me feel like a wretched man who should know better than to be so judgmental. I felt awful.

It turned out that only a few weeks ago, our digital guy had suffered some massive stroke and was rushed to a hospital emergency room. After a short while, he was pronounced dead. He was dead for more than 24 hours, then, by some miraculous means, he awoke and came back to life. He is so grateful for being alive that now he can’t help but be thankful for every little blessing. Just having the precious gift of life made him high…radiant, passionate and vivacious. I don’t believe you could have made him frown by insulting his mother’s character.

I thought, oh my goodness. What would it be like for me to know that this day of my life is a special gift to which I didn’t have a right? That this moment…every moment…being able to breathe, walk and talk, makes me greater than all the billions of fine human beings whose bodies are rotting or have rotted under the ground? Would I show uncommon joy? Would I greet strangers with unexplained jubilation? Would I seem at times insensitive to the protocol of proper society? In a heavy, somber business meeting, would I often break professional procedure with outbursts of optimism and great expectations?

My friend, may I ask you a few of these questions that have haunted me since encountering this bald headed, fifty year old? In order for you to live in ongoing radiance and jubilation, is it going to be necessary for you to go through trauma and drama that remind you of the precious gift you have, just being able to breathe and think? Do you fret so much about what is to happen in the future that the blessings of the present are invisible to you?

I’ve personally had to return to some of the lessons I teach in my personal development programs. This one in particular—The Jump Shift Method—from my CD program, Born to Fly, has helped me regain perspective and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude, joy and personal power. Do the exercise:

Think of the single worst problem in your life today, whether emotional, physical, financial, of relationships, or otherwise—the one problem that if eliminated, would cause your quality of life to improve most significantly. Got it? Describe it on a piece of paper. Next, imagine that everybody in the world were forced to do this exercise and had a piece of paper in hand, representing this greatest personal crisis.

Now, answer this question. How many people in the world would gladly exchange their greatest problem for yours…without a moment of thought?  Would that be nobody, because yours is the worst of all conceivable human burdens? A few? A lot? Millions and billions of people? If you honestly answer, nobody, I pray for you. If not, then take the next step.

Imagine that your own problem is dramatically greater. For example, Situation “A”: Your present greatest problem is that you recently lost a leg. Situation “B”: You clearly imagine that you lost it all…you are quadriplegic…nothing works from your neck down. Someone puts you into your chair, takes you out, feeds you, helps you with your toilet functions…everything. Too dramatic? Okay, try this one…

Situation “A”: You struggle everyday to pay your bills; you never have any money left over, despite working hard, every waking moment. Stressed and frustrated, you wonder about the futility of life itself. Situation “B”: Yesterday your body felt strange, so you went to your doctor for a routine check up. You discovered that you have a rare blood disease that is in the advance stages. You have one week or so to live. Besides, your two children have a 90% chance of getting the same disease and there is no known cure.

Final step: Pray, meditate, beg God to exchange your present Situation “B” for something lighter to bear…you choose instead, the problem of living close to poverty, with just enough resources to see your children grow up as strong, healthy adults (Situation “A”). Now, come back to present reality and see your prayer answered in full detail. You do have Situation “A” instead of “B.” When you do this exercise with full imagination and visualization, the end result is an overwhelming sense of gratefulness, appreciation and joy—just to know that your life is now that good.

This Jump Shift Method is an extremely powerful tool that I describe in the 6 CD personal development program…Born to Fly. These mental devices seem so simple and easy to use, yet they provide you with amazing powers to determine the state of your life—emotionally, physically, financially and otherwise.

I learned a valuable lesson from my digital guy in the bank. My having knowledge of the right perspectives and thinking processes to make my life abundant, joyful and free, does not necessarily mean that I utilize that knowledge everyday. I need frequent reminders to help me avoid the pitfalls of negativity, cynicism and the resulting life of sadness and frustration. Don’t you? We have to seek out information that will fortify our thought life and then, practice what we learn. And importantly, when we encounter someone who seems too carefree, too passionate for present protocol, we should allow it and yearn for our lives to have such a measure of fullness and freedom.

Take it from me, this attitude will give you altitude.

Alvin

PS: Do you want tools and techniques to boost your life? To experience these life-changing tools—The Jump Shift Method and many others—see details below on the Born to Fly 6 CD Program.  Call Marsha to order at (561) 432-5610 or send an email to info@AlvinDay.com . Ask for a special $30 discount—only for readers of this Ezine, and only until Saturday, May 26.