I Will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart

Our family morning routine includes a regular family scripture study with my daughters in the morning.

There was one occasion in which I also added reading the book “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino to begin the day.

I had read this book years ago in Spanish and I was quickly reminded why it really marked me as a youth.

If you haven’t read it and are looking for a positive and uplifting book, I highly recommend it!

Within the beautiful fictional story, Og Mandino shares the contents of sacred scrolls that contain the secrets to becoming “The Greatest Salesman in the World.”

[Spoiler alert: what you’ll read is way beyond the topic of sales.]

The book instructs readers to recite and read each scroll daily a few times for 30 days.

I had what I consider to be a sacred experience with the second scroll or “The Scroll Marked II” as it is referred to in the book.

This section is titled I Will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart.

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A beautiful concept in theory.

Little did I know I was about to transform me.

At that time, I would usually drive someone to their work in the morning and that particular day, I was not excited to be out and about.

My complaint was that it was rainy and cold. I like sun-shiny days!

Quickly, I caught myself when I remembered this sentence from the book:

“I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.”

I decided to adopt it as an affirmation and, as if to be held accountable, I told this person I had done just that.

That brought a smile to both our faces and we left it at that.

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On the way back home, I realized a miracle had happened.

I later asked that person if they had noticed any change in me during the drive after I had made that commitment.

The answer was YES, and I had felt that that inadvertently, this tiny decision allowed me to find beauty in everything.

I noticed the beauty of the Texas Winter. The only times I had seen winters was on television, because I grew up in a Caribbean island.

The falling leaves were suddenly a blessing to me. They were so colorful this year, almost like the ones that greeted me in Michigan during my first trip to the United States, back in 1999.

I was so grateful that I even took a picture of the landscape during a stop light!

When I realized this shift that happened in me, I was shocked at my own amazement of what I thought an ugly yucky site just minutes before.

I’m not much of a complainer, and yet, I did learn a great lesson that day: what you greet with love, makes you happy.

3 Affirmations From “I Will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart”

The Scroll Marked II has several many life-changing affirmations that invite us to change our heart and see everything with love.

I now use them as tools for more happiness.

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1. I will dig for reasons to applaud, never excuses to gossip.
2. I will love myself – I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my soul, and my heart.
3. I do not have time to hate, only time to love.

Which one of these is your favorite? Let’s discuss!

I will dig for reasons to applaud, never excuses to gossip.

I have a lot of thoughts on this one.

First, I’ll say there are times that you do gotta dig quite deep to find reasons to applaud something or someone.

Some days are HARD.

Yes, sometimes we write off a good day because it had hard moments, but God knows there are some days in which every single minute is actually hard.

And second, gossip is poisonous, and all “reasons” to gossip are simply an excuse.

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A lot of people think that gossip is synonymous with spreading rumors, lies, and malicious information about people.

When we put gossip in that box, then we come out quite clean in the transaction.

However, gossip is simply saying something behind someone’s back that you won’t, wouldn’t, or just haven’t said to their face.

Gossip gets one caught up in a toxic triangle, where we get to vent, complain, and even demonize.

Nothing changes in our relationship with the person we spoke about, and now there’s someone else trapped in the middle, doing our emotional work for us.

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Our old friend Thumper (from Disney’s Bambi) said: “If you can’t say something NICE don’t say NOTHING at all.”

That’s our practice!

I will love myself – I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my soul, and my heart.

I like this very simple, direct, and insightful definition of self-love. It is just brilliant!

There are many misguided definitions out there, because having a self-love checklist will only work if you are coming from the right place.

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Inspecting what enters your body, what enters your soul, and what enters your heart, guarantees health, hope, and happiness.

And when you have these essential components, the next component comes much more easily!

I do not have time to hate, only time to love.

Our time in this earth is so limited and I know you know that. I know that.

And yet, we get distracted and sidetracked.

Hatred doesn’t serve us. It’s a harmful and self-destructive energy that takes us off the path toward our purpose.

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Whenever I start “hating” (which could both mean criticizing someone or something or holding a grudge, a judgment, or a resentment against someone else), I try to defuse it by reminding myself that I must manage my time wisely and hate is a waste of time.

This is not something I am even close to mastering, and it’s okay if I struggle with it while I’m alive.

What I do know is that taking those baby steps, one step at a time, and giving ourselves grace is what brings joy to each day.

Making Each day a SUCCESS

“The Scroll Marked II” ends with “I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.”

Such a profound concept. Love is the only success.

It doesn’t matter what we have or what we have achieved if we didn’t love ourselves and others along the way.

It’d be a sad existence to be alone, where the people around you just hang on because of your money, your titles, or your fame.

Thankfully, true success is within our grasp – each day.

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It starts with greeting the day with love and continues with digging deeper so we can find “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report” even with the most challenging people and in the hardest situations.

As the Bible verse in Philippians 4:8 continues:

“If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Will you greet this day with love in your heart? I say  “Let’s greet this day with love, and we will be happy!” Share if you’re IN!

Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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