Formula For Appreciation

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins has a formula for happiness that he shares in his seminars. I don't think I can share it here without being sued, so I came up with my own that I'll gladly share with you now. I call it Ordale's Formula For Appreciation.

Ordale's Formula For Appreciation
Paycheck-($100 Rent Increase +"Over the Fiscal Cliff" payroll tax increase+Verizon "upgrade" fees+Vehicle registration renewal)= Appreciation

By following my formula, you too can learn to appreciate whatever meat is on sale at the grocery store. Can you believe that just five years ago I turned my nose up at the slightly discolored ground beef with the giant $2.00 OFF (Today Only) sticker? I know, crazy! Back then I was lost. I didn't live with a 35 pound two year old who, while advertised to only have a stomach the size of a small fist, secretly bears the soul of a hungry-hungry hippo.

Luckily, fate found me and rescued me from the shackles of disposable income. I now appreciate every single dollar that I find in the pocket of an old coat and I respect the rarity and majesty of an ATM that gives out fives. I'm a changed man. A better man. I don't see week-old meat. I see the unpredictability of life. Is it a chance to feed my family on a budget or  a chance to get to know my medical provider better?

Appreciation, ladies and gentlemen. It's the name of the game. I just hope that I don't forget all that I've learned next month when the payroll taxes go back to normal and the registration renewal fees are just a distant memories. May I never turn my nose up at roll of the dice meat again.
Namaste!