Prosperity point: A Three-Legged Dog

I was in a veterinarian’s office and met a woman with one
very lively dog. He wagged, shook, panted, licked, and just
radiated joy the way only happy dogs can. He was so
spirited that it was a few minutes before I noticed the
atrophied hind leg. Funny thing, he didn’t seem to notice
it either. He didn’t care that he only had three legs. I
don’t even think he knew the difference. He was too busy
having fun.

In Lesson Twelve of Prosperity, "Overcoming the Thought of Lack," Charles Fillmore writes:

The mind of humanity is like the net catching every kind of idea, and it is our privilege and duty under the divine law
to separate those that are good from those that are not
good. In this process the currents of unselfish, spiritual
love flowing through the soul act as great eliminators,
freeing the consciousness of thoughts of hate, lack, and
poverty, and giving the substance of Spirit free access into
the consciousness and affairs.

That dog could easily have spent his life limping and
looking sorrowful, and no one would have thought any the
worse of him. Quite the opposite, we’d have taken special
care of him. But what a mistake that would have been!
Maybe he didn’t have the Westminster Dog Show in his future,
but that didn’t stop him from running, playing, and living a
full doggie life.

I have a friend who talks to me about his efforts to meet
women. He uses Internet dating sites, trades emails,
occasionally meets someone in person. He’s told me about
some of these encounters. A few times he’s been terribly
excited, having just made some wonderful connection with a
new woman. But sure enough, within a few weeks, she’s
called it off.

It doesn’t take much for us to dwell on what’s missing.
Something not so good happens, and it occupies our whole
thinking – never mind that the good stuff is still there.
One day of rain ruins our whole week on the tropical island.
The garden isn’t landscaped the way we want it, so we
forget how well we decorated the living room. Our eyes
aren’t the color we’d like, and we don’t notice our gift for
compassion (or our 20/20 vision!)

Fillmore explains that while we’re focusing on our
shortcomings, we don’t allow the Spirit the opportunity to
give. Not being able to pay the bills is overwhelming. If
your mind is a net, it will certainly catch that poverty
idea. But it’s up to you to strain that out and only
capture the ones that build, not the ones that destroy. If
you clog the net with the negative stuff, there’s nowhere
for the positive to flow in.

It won’t happen by accident, nor is it somehow ordained.
You get to choose. And you let the good stuff flow through
by choosing to think thoughts of love, gratitude, and
generosity. You know the phrase "garbage in, garbage out"?
It works both ways. Good stuff in, good stuff out.

Clean Closets

I have to admit, I’m not good at throwing things away. My closets are full of “well, I might need this sometime” stuff. And my garage? How does anyone ever fit two cars in a two car garage? Some of it is sentimental, like the little keepsake box that held my treasures when I was ten. Some of it is utilitarian, like the business cards of former customers (never mind that they probably don’t work at those companies any more.) But they’re all there, and they’re all taking up space in my drawers, shelves and closets.

I recently went to my closet to hang up a new sweater and realized how cramped it was in there. If I want space for new clothes, I’m going to have to get rid of some of the old ones! So I started going through the closet, and sure enough, the sentimental and utilitarian entered in. Aw, look at this blouse, it was a gift. I don’t want to get rid of a gift – it has meaning! And look at this skirt. It’s perfectly good, and if I ever have to dress for work every day again I’ll need it, won’t I?

It wasn’t easy, but I grit my teeth and filled a few bags with clothing to donate to charity. I convinced myself that the dress I hadn’t worn for ten years wasn’t serving me any more, that the shoes I forgot I had were outdated and useless to me. They might be good for someone else now, but not for me.

But it’s not just what we store in our closets that becomes worn out, that no longer serves us. It’s what we store in our minds as well. If we can’t let go of an old shirt, how much harder is it to give up an old belief? And how much more powerful that belief, that is with us always, than that shirt, that we can forget about for a while. But beliefs, like clothes and gadgets, outlive their usefulness to us and become clutter.