Blog 3572 – 08.16.2026

The Secret Ingredient

Every great recipe and every great life has a special ingredient. Read carefully between the lines and you can find the complete recipe in most books even the ones thought especially holy or notoriously profane. Author’s opinion here: None of the holy books nor the profane ones despite their claims were written by holy men nor totaling profane men just men and therefore contain at best a mix of truth and error. A song quote from Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah supports my theory:

“You say I took the name in vain

But I don’t even know the name

But if I did really what’s it to ya

There’s a blazing light in every word

It doesn’t matter which you heard

The holy or the broken hallelujah.”

But back to that secret ingredient that makes our dreams, hopes, and wishes come true, and all our recipes from toast to ten course meals turn out right. Is it hard work? No. Is it long hours and sleepless nights studying for the test? No. Is it crossing every T and dotting every I? No. Is it selling all we have, giving it to the poor, and following Jesus or some other teacher? No.

The secret is not sprinkling it with sugar or fairy dust either. It is this: After you have figured out out what you truly want (And this is the most difficult and time consuming part of the process), make your request known in a wish, a prayer, or an intention to your higher power, your loving and infinite source. If believing a higher power is problem for you try to imagine God as just your higher best self.

But the secret ingredient that guarantees the recipe will turn out right, the special ingredient that makes happily ever after our sure and certain reality is this. And read carefully: To insure that you have gotten your higher powers attention and that he/she is convinced of your sincerity, take a few baby steps in that direction, do some small act toward bringing it past.

Do not try to do it all your self. This business of self made men and women lifting themselves up by their own bootstraps is nonsense and malarkey. No one ever achieved anything great, wonderful, or marvelous by themselves, but only with a little help from above and usually the lion’s share at that.

I believe that our higher power, our loving and infinite source wants us to have it all and is ready to move heaven and earth to grant our requests.

Even a book (or actually a collection of them) as

confusing and often contradictory as the Bible says that pretty plan in places if we pay attention:

Ask whatsoever you will believing you shall receive

Seek and you shall find.

Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

Remember the anagram for the recipe ASK – Ask, Seek, and Knock.

Ask – Make your request known.

Seek – Look expectantly for the package to arrive.

Knock – Often the only baby step in the right direction required is to keep knocking on the door till it opens.

There you have it – The secret recipe to a wonderful life revealed with the special ingredient identified as faith which in reality just determination not to take no for an answer.

In life we get what we expect, what we ask for, what we want. That is why it is of paramount importance to figure out exactly what we want and to focus our attention upon that. Eye on the prize, Pilgrims.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David James White