December 19th, 2015

Supported by Angels

​My favorite movie that my wife and I look at a few times every Christmas season is It’s a Wonderful Life. The many messages in this movie are very applicable to all of us seeking to live a life of abundance. Eight years ago at my retirement dinner reflecting on the ending of my 43 year career my closing words were “It's a Wonderful Life.”
 
It was a magical moment of feeling great about what I had accomplished in my career. I was also pleased with the financial success I achieved to support my passion to experience life to the fullest to include world travel. Much like what happened to George (James Stewart) in the movie when he experienced a financial crisis, I felt shattered a year after retirement when the economy tanked and we came close to a return of the Great Depression.
 
Next thing that happens in the movie stirs up emotions followed by tears regardless of how many times I watch it. It’s when Clarence the angel shows up. If Clarence can succeed in helping George appreciate his life he will earn his wings.
 
My life has been blessed with an abundance of angels who have shown up when I needed them the most. If I would tell the story of each incident I would need a notebook and not a brief blog posting. At this time I will limit my sharing to one experience and discuss others in later postings.
 
The one I will share today is how our financial planner showed up 25 years ago when we realized it was time to get more serious about saving  money for retirement and we needed advice. I read an article in the financial section of the newspaper written by a financial advisor that really impressed me. I assumed it was written by someone in New York. I wrote a letter to him and forwarded it to the local newspaper. A week later on a Saturday morning I received a call from him offering me a wealth of valuable information. I asked if he knew of anyone locally with whom I could consult. He said his office was in Metairie a few miles from our house. He said if you and your wife would like to come in to interview me to see if I am the right person for you call back and set up an appointment.  John was and still is a Clarence for us. We would have never made it to a financially secure retirement or made it through the financial collapse of the market without his guidance.
 
It is the support of angels in my life that just show up when needed that makes the title of this movie one of my daily affirmations "It's a Wonderful Life!”
 
I n the past I have shared with others these stories of angels showing up in my life and I often get a response like “That has never happens to me.” It can and it will but we need to draw on our tool box of positive tools to use to train our brain to expect them to happen.
 
One of the tools I use as I start the day is positive affirmations. Examples of these are “I am living a life of abundance. I am financially secure. I am my ideal weight. I am blessed with good friends. I am living life to the fullest.”  By saying these affirmations I am inviting these things to show up in my life.
 
The affirmation I wrote in my journal and reflected on several times a week before our financial planner showed up was “I am meeting with a financial planner who will assist me with my finances.” At that time this was a bold step because we didn’t have much for someone to manage!
 
 
To get started using this tool you may want to learn more by reading The Power of Affirmations by Louise Stapely.