The Quality of the Day

Date: 1/22/2007

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.

-Henry David ThoreauWe know now that there are many aspects to real life in which our opinion is neither sought nor required. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and positive thinking, health, fortune, and/or peace eludes us. But the one thing we do

have absolute control over is the quality of our days.



For some time now we have been conducting a top-secret experiment with life, as Thoreau suggests we do. We wanted to see just how much influence we really had on the day's character. So the first words we speak in the

morning are: "Thank you for the gift of this wonderful day."



Here are the initial findings, but you will not like them. Nor did we.

All days are wonderful in direct proportion to the creative energy

invested in them. No investment, no return.

Even lousy days possess hidden wonder. Sometimes all you need is a moment of attitude adjustment to shift your perception of an entire

afternoon and move forward into a pleasant evening.

Weather does not seem to affect the experiment. Gray, cold, and rainy days spent in an office are just as susceptible to the warming influence of enthusiasm as are sunny days spent lying in a hammock sipping sangria.

Days that are expected to be wonderful before they begin turn out to

be so much more frequently than days greeted with grumbling.

The results of this experiment suggest that it doesn't matter whether a day is good or bad.

What matters is what we do with it.

Sincerely,



Chris & Dan

Grateful Co-Publishers



P.S. Thank you to all our faithful readers and advertisers for welcoming us into your homes and hearts every week.



We hope you have a wonderful day!