Finding Your Blessing

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. Martha Washington (1731-1802).

When we are able to appreciate what we have in this moment, our blessing, instead of fretting about the past or worrying about the future, our life changes.

Living in the moment and seeing the beauty or blessing of that moment is nothing new. In fact, Buddhist tradition includes a story called the monk and the tiger. A monk, on his daily walk through the jungle hears growling. He sees a tiger ready to pounce. He runs to the edge of a cliff. He jumps and grabs a vine. He dangles hundreds of feet above the rocky ravine. A mouse begins to gnaw on the vine. At that moment the monk sees a plump, red strawberry growing just within reach. He pops it into his mouth. “Delicious!” he proclaims.

Most religions teach that the secret to happiness is recognizing the blessing (or counting them). St. Benedict, Meister Eckhart and St. Francis of Assisi all promoted this as a spiritual practice.

This is especially true in charity auctions. When a bid is made I am in that moment. I am not thinking about the bids before, or future bids. This is the heart of the auction practice; each bid as a singular moment. Each bid is a blessing. In my line of work I am blessed over and over again. Each bid is a delicious strawberry!

Today, I invite you to find the blessing of the moment. Tonight, take a breath and count them.

As a leading benefit auctioneer, I am dedicated to helping deserving organizations across the country meet and exceed their fundraising goals. Take your non-profit auction to the next level. Contact benefit auctioneer Karen Sorbo to learn more.

Connect with benefit auctioneer Karen Sorbo on Google+

Menu