What do biscuits, horse manure and focus have in common?

Good morning, everybody. Lee Brower here. Welcome to this week's edition of Meaningful Monday. I am grateful to be here, and I am glad to be here. Let's go big. Let's begin in gratitude. I'm going to go begin in gratitude a little differently. I'm going to share with you a prayer about biscuits. And I think when we're all done with this, you might say, that guy's full of manure. So you better stay placed, because we are going to talk about manure.

But here's the prayer, a prayer about biscuits. Lord, I hate buttermilk. Lord, I hate lard. Lord, I hate flour, but Lord, I sure love biscuits. Now, this prayer is a wonderful reminder that even though we might not appreciate every individual component of our lives, when they come together, the good, the bad, the winnings, losings, the learnings, the love, when all of that comes together, it can create something absolutely, truly wonderful.

Just like the ingredients of a biscuit, of that biscuit that we talked about. The challenges and the hardships we face can combine to produce blessings if we stay focused on the bigger picture. So my message is pay attention to what we are paying attention to. In our daily lives, what we focus on amplifies.

If we constantly pay attention to what is wrong, we end up amplifying the negative. And the media, what do they want to stop? They want to just get our attention. They don't care if it's good or bad, but they often highlight the problems around us to capture our attention. Then we have a choice in that moment. We get to remember to focus on the positive aspects of our life within our families, within our workplaces, and within our communities. It's up to us. I want you to think back to 1898.

Oh, I worded that wrong, didn't I? You're not going to think back to 1898, and don't think I will either. there.

But in 1898, you may not know this, but delegates from around the world, they gathered together in New York to discuss what was considered to be a world environmental disaster. I want you to think about what it was like in New York City at the time. 150,000 horses. They weren't the only capital in the world. Major city that had horses everywhere. They were smothered in manure.

Think about it new york city had 150 000 horses that meant that the city had to manage over three million pounds of manure every day how many gallons of urine 40 000. It's an ecological disaster and they had no solutions they had no solutions but the private automobile a new technology. It came on the scene in less than two decades, and it was the Savior that solved that urban nightmare.

You see, if we can stay focused on the positivity in every situation, then our minds stay open, and when they're open, we can find solutions. Einstein once remarked, and this is important, You know, in the West, we built a beautiful ship, and it has all the comforts. But actually, the one thing that it doesn't have is a compass, and that's why it doesn't know where it's going.

We need to know where we're going. So this resonates with us in our current times. We have more degrees, but less sense. More knowledge, but less judgment. More experts, but fewer solutions. We are hyper-connected digitally, yet many of us feel lonelier than ever. We know how to communicate with people around the world, but we don't know how to walk across the street and have a conversation with our neighbors.

So our challenge this week, let's focus on the good. it. It's powerful and it's contagious. So this week, I challenge you to pay attention to what you are paying attention to. When you find yourself fixating on the negative, shift your focus. You have a choice in that moment. Shift your focus to something positive. Now, get the empowering question. First of all, at the end of the day, ask yourself, what is one good thing that happened today?

All right, that's just what I want. Would you agree with me? Would you go along with me each day. Just ask that question. Put a reminder someplace in your journal, someplace, put a stick them up someplace and ask yourself, what is one good thing that happened today? Now let's get the day started, right? And you do that by programming your subconscious mind. And this is a hint, a prompt that I've given you before.

And it is, can I be the answer to someone's prayer today? Don't answer it. Let it go. If you want to have some fun with this, I did this. I did this myself. I just put that question into chat GPT. Can I be the answer to someone's prayer today. And it gave me 10 very simple things that I could do. It opened up my mind and I just let it flow and see what happens. Remember, we amplify what we give space to. Let's amplify the good. Have a meaningful week. I look forward to talking to you next week.

Onward, upward, and outward.