Law of Attraction: You Can't have it Both Ways

We were driving along on our way to a speaking engagement when my cell phone chirped; our daughter was on the line.  "Mom?"  Before I could even say hello, she burst into tears.  The first thing a mother always asks is, "Are you okay?"  Through her tears she got the words out that she was physically okay.  Lee saw that this was an urgent call from our oldest daughter, and she was never one to call in tears; she was the most controlled of our bunch when it comes to her life and her emotions.

Lee took the phone from me and soothed her tears. "Now c'mon," he said gently, "I know you're upset but breathe and try to relax so you can tell us what's up."  Once she heard her 'second' daddy's voice she began to put up her brave front.  Lee handed the phone back to me.

"So tell me what happened," I asked as we pulled up to the lodge that we were going to be speaking at. "I had a really hard day at work today," she cried, "and every customer was so mean! Everyone, and I mean everyone, was so upset and all complaining about how bad their lives were."  She continued, "Everything I went to help them with, they barked at me. I hate my job and I just want to quit!"  This coming from a girl who loves to be efficient and who took on her current job so that she could make some money while she worked on obtaining her 'real' goals in life.

I asked her if it was time for her to quit.  Work at the job she was currently at seemed to be getting her more upset by the day, and this day she had finally had it.

She hemmed and hawed about how she needed the money and how it was getting her what she needed in order to pursue what she really wanted.

I said to her, "You can't have it both ways."  

"What do you mean by that, Mom?" she said, indignantly.

"You can't have it both ways.  You can't hate the job and make great money at it and then complain about how horrible it is.  You have to make a decision to be happy."

"What does happiness have to do with this?" she groaned.  She could hear the Law of Attraction teacher coming out in me.

"You tell me over and over again how much you hate your current job and how everyone is mean to you.  Then you tell me that you can't quit because you need the money.  And let's take it a step further.  You visualize everyday for the career that you truly want, but you aren't doing your part of the deal."

"I'm doing everything Mom!  I visualize, I think good thoughts, I go to work with a stiff upper lip and fake my way through the day at a job that isn't the best."

"You can't have it both ways," I tell her again, fully aware that I am beginning to break some ground.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you really want to know?"  This was my one child who I could count on curiosity always getting the best of her.

"Tell me what you mean."

"You say that you visualize.  You say you think good thoughts and then you have to tolerate and fake your way through the day.  The Universe is going to continue to bring you things that you have to tolerate and fake.  Your part of the deal is this:  You visualize and focus on what you 'want' and the Universe will take care of the 'how.'  You are focusing on the 'don't wants' of your situations and the Universe is taking care of that.  Your deal is to find happiness and gratefulness in everything you do so that the Universe can bring you everything you desire with happiness and gratefulness, and you are looking at your every day job through hatred and resentment and so the Universe continues to bring you what you are focusing on. So really you are holding up your end of the deal, and so is the Universe.  You change the rules; the Universe will bring you exactly that."

She was quiet.  "So now what do I do?"

"You find the joy and happiness in everything you do.  You go to work with joy written all over your face and find what ever you can to be joyous about.  When you have customers yelling in your ear, find the joy in something in the situation.  Maybe the silliness of it all but find it.  When you live in joy no matter what you will no longer experience what you dislike in your life.  All the people who are coming into your life are reflections of what you have been thinking.  Change the thinking and change your life.  End of story."

Lee and I were rolling our luggage in the lobby of the lodge as I was having the conversation on the phone and were gathering a small group of people that were interested in what I was saying.   At first I thought: Well, that is kind of nosy but decided to take the advice I gave my daughter.  Live in each joyous moment.  So the last thing I said to my daughter was, "Go try it.  You see, I am finding the joy right now in a bunch of nice people behind me who are listening in on our conversation!  It's kind of like the radio show only it's in this beautiful lodge!" I chuckled.   Needless to say, the little crowd dispersed and I ended my call with my daughter.

Come to find out, the people who had overheard the phone call were some folks who had come to see the lecture. 

After our lecture one of them came up to Lee and me.  "I just wanted to tell you that I was one of the people listening to your phone call.  I wasn't listening to be nosy; I was listening because what you were saying to whoever you were talking to has the same problem I was having.  You answered my question and you didn't even know it.  I was so happy but I wanted to apologize for eavesdropping.  I didn't even know I was doing it!"

I smiled and told her, "I believe the Universe guided us to walk in at that moment just for you.  Thank you."

Every moment and everything you do should be enjoyed, even when you think at first that it is a 'bad' situation.  It isn't bad, it is something to realize when you are 'don't wanting' your life.  Live in joy and seize the moment just like the sweet lady who attended the lecture and found an answer in someone else's phone call.