"Gratitude Rocks"

This past Sunday was our town's annual festival. It's called "Cow Harbor Day". The harbor at the foot of Main Street used to be called Cow Harbor. Anyway, there is a parade, rides for the kids, crazy boat races, all kinds of food and a craft fair in the park. It always attracts a huge crowd.

I am a member of our local Rotary Club. We are always trying to come up with different ideas to raise money. We use the funds to support many charitable endeavors, both local and worldwide. One of our pet projects is the local food pantry. You'd be surprised, even in an affluent village as ours, how many families rely on the food pantry to keep their families fed. I thought it would be a good idea to have the food pantry be the beneficiary of my fund raising efforts because it was a village fair and the money would stay in the village.

I decided that I would take a page out of the movie (book) "The Secret" and set up a booth to sell "Gratitude Rocks". I thought it would be an opportunity to raise some consciousness as well as some money. My first thought was to sell the gratitude rocks for $10. apiece, but then decided to make them more affordable and lowered the price to $5.; 3 for $10. In order to fill up the booth I decided to sell my book, "Simple Happiness" and donate the proceeds to the same cause. Many of my fellow Rotary Club members were quite skeptical to say the least. There were a few, however, who supported my undertaking.

I went down to the harbor the Sunday before the event at low tide and gathered what I thought were attractive rocks, small enough to carry around in one's pocket or purse. I washed and sanatized the rocks and got them all ready. My wife contributed some colorful polished rocks that she had brought back from a trip to San Francisco - these turned out to be the best sellers by far. Finally, my assistant, who created some beautiful signage, contributed a bag of rocks that she purchased from Pottery Barn.

The big day finally arrived. My wife helped me set up the booth and stuck with me the whole day, occasionally bring me food and drink to sustain me throught the day. What a day it was! Crisp, cool, perfect blue skies and a big crowd. Hundreds and hundreds of people passed by my booth. Some snickered, thinking the gratitude rocks were some crazy notion like the old "pet rocks". They couldn't have been more wrong. I had the opportunity to explain to many folks the real meaning of a "Gratitude Rock".

You see, you put it in your pocket in the morning and as you do, you think of something that you're grateful for. In so doing, you feel good. As you sit down at your desk at work you feel it in your back pocket and it reminds you to bring to mind a thought of gratitude, and what do you know? - you feel good. Later, at lunch you reach into your pocket and feel it, once again it reminds you to bring to mind a thought of something you're grateful for, and guess what? - you feel good.

Little by little you start to understand that you have the ability to feel good throughout the day, simply by thinking a thought of gratitude. When you notice yourself feeling stressed or low, you realize that you can change your thoughts and lose that low mood. Good things start to happen as you cultivate these good feelings during your day. The law of attraction says that the more grateful thoughts you think during the day, the more things will come into your life to be grateful for. This little gratitude rock could be the catalyst to help you live with an attitude of gratitude. It could be the start of a life filled with joy and happiness.

The sale turned out to be a big success. 21 copies of "Simple Happiness" were sold, bringing $168 to the bottom line. A grand total of $262 was raised from the sale of the "Gratitude Rocks". A total of $430 was given to the food pantry. On top of that, I know that there are fewer skeptics among my fellow Rotarians, and probably most important, there are a lot of folks in my village who are practicing gratitude, and feeling good.

Little by little the world is changing. Changing for the better!

Jim Ryan

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