Thank and Grow Rich

A dear friend of mine had been encouraging me to get into audio books for quite some time now. I had been declining because not only am I a “paper-back” kinda girl, I had made a point of turning off my radio quite some time ago in order to simply enjoy the peace and quiet during my 30-minute commute home.

Although my life is just as busy as the next person’s, I had made it a priority to work on self-development and recently made a commitment to myself that every morning, during my second cup of coffee (’cause let’s face it, a girl has gotta wake up first), I would read a chapter out of my latest personal development book I was reading. I had just finished reading “You are a Bad Ass” by Jenn Sincero (which I highly recommend by the way), and was ready for my next book, so I decided to heed my friend’s suggestion and downloaded Audible to my phone.

She had suggested “Thank and Grow Rich” A 30-day experiment in shameless gratitude, by Pam Grout. Although the title was a bit deceiving, I was confident that this was most likely NOT a “get rich” kinda book.

I was right. (But I was also wrong)

Now, I don’t know about you, but audio books can take a bit of getting used to if your mind tends to wander like mine. And wander it did, but not before I tuned in to the part where the author challenges you to ask the Universe for 3 things: a sign, a totem, and present.

The next morning, although I couldn’t’ recall all the particulars around two of the 3 things, what was clear in my mind was the totem. For those of you , like me, who may not know what this means, a totem is a natural object or animal that is believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance.

I decided to take the author up on her challenge, and put forth my “request” the next morning, and then I simply carried on with my day. By the end of my day, nothing extraordinary had happened, although I had been making a conscious effort to be inwardly and outwardly grateful throughout my day (a challenging task in itself taking into consideration the busy and sometime stress inducing law office that I work in).

The next morning during my morning commute (and right on the heels of  my thoughts whispering “maybe I heard wrong“, I just happened to glance up at the sky at the very moment when a symphony of swallows did the most lovely synchronized dance right in front of me before landing on the power lines above my head.

Goosebumps took up residence on my arms.

I was absorbing what I had just saw when I looked up again, and a large black crow swooped over my car a little higher in the sky than the swallows.

“Oh, wow”, I thought.

Then I looked up again, and was in complete awe as a beautiful bald eagle majestically flew high overhead, directly across the path of my vehicle.

Now, you can bet that by the time I got to work I made a point of looking up the meaning of  these “totem symbols”, but what  most amazing was my discovery was that each one of these birds symbolized something very personal and relevant to what was happening in my present life.

I will end this here.

If you are at all curious, read or listen to the book. This was a profoundly powerful experience. I had absolutely forgotten just how connected our thoughts and actions are to the Universe, and just how magical life’s mysteries can be.