I know, I know. 50 shades. grate – ful. Grateful! It came to me when I was…never mind!
Today, as I wish the world a happy Thanksgiving, I once again set my timer for ten minutes to see how many things I could list in that time. And here’s what I came up with…and hence the title.
So family and friends are a given. I thought of covering the extras here – the little things that make up the big stuff but hey, how can my gratitude list be complete without my friends, family and family friends?
- Coffee (ha ha, just had to say that)
- Conversations with my Mom. In my head. And my heart. Where she lives.
- Sury and his sense of humor and tolerance.
- Vidur. Blessed to be his Mom.
- Working from home (no commute!)
- A nice home (including my playmates – the dust bunnies)
- The privilege of being able to support some charities and children.
- Diabetes. Yes. Because it has made me strictly stick to a healthy lifestyle and has my family buddying up too.
- My blogs. The joy of writing.
- Blogging friends who are loyal readers of my blog and write wonderful comments
Thanks www.buddhadoodles.com
- Readers who take the time out to send me an email of appreciation.
- The kindness of strangers – there’s this lady I meet at the bus stop every day who asks me how I am. I don’t know her name, but we save seats for each other and help each other with change for our tickets. I love her bright smile!
- Clients who trust me and make it possible for me to live my dream. I may not be rich, but I am happy!
- Decent eyesight. I live in fear of losing it. Stupid, I know. But not impossible.
- Which brings me to my spectacles. Imagine not having them. Imagine not being able to read!
- A fabulous camera that helps me click memories.
- Being able to walk everywhere in our area without the need for transport.
- My little scoops of joy at my son’s school. I’ll miss them so much when he leaves in April next year! Makes them all the more precious!
- The pigeons who give a shit in my balcony. I am disgusted to say I miss them when they’re not moaning at my window. I am grateful for their company – kind of annoying, but also soothing.
- Sunshine in my balcony that helps dry the laundry on my clothesline and bathes that part of our apartment in its brilliant light. And heat.
Thank you www.buddhadoodles.com
- Fans that work and keep us cool. In this category, I’d include all the amenities we enjoy – hot water, the cooking stove, food we eat, the beds we sleep on and just about everything we use to stay alive and happy. This includes our potties. Yes. Can you imagine not having a toilet in the house? I can. I know how that feels like.
- Nice neighbors. Big difference in life.
- My laptop, which enables me work from home and keeps me connected with the world.
- Books – real and digital. Oh the joy! I have enough to read for as long as I exist. No lie!
- Email. Instant communication with friends at the other end of the world.
- Our terrace, where I walk every day with Nature. With birds. Kites, parrots, pigeons, mynahs, crows. Then later, the bad boy bats. Huge ones.
- Our building watchman, who always has a smile for me and points out a new flower, because he’s so amused when I run and photograph it.
- My best friend of 40+ years, who always seems to sense I want to talk to her and calls.
- Meeting virtual friends in real life. So wonderful! Truly, it is a small world!
- A good doctor when I need him/her. Well the “him” has great hair and a fab sense of humor. And oh, he’s a good doc too. Really!
- Memories. So maybe I had a less than perfect childhood and grew up poor – but you know what they say about the journey. I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.
- My shortcomings – there’s always room for improvement. I am only a work in progress.
- Music playlists and YouTube – always keeps me upbeat
- Online shopping – which takes minutes and saves me the trips and queues. It means I can spend my time more meaningfully and productively.
- The garbage collector in our apartment complex who smiles as he collects the trash. Every single day. So humbling.
- The pharmacy opposite our house with its friendly staff that responds promptly when I phone in my prescription.
- Our bank’s relationship manager who is so helpful beyond the call of duty
- The old man on our street who stoically occupies a space on the sidewalk. A lesson in survival. Would cure anyone of complaining.
- My education. Always grateful to my Mom. I know how she struggled to make this possible.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables that make it easy for me to stay on the path to living healthy.
- Time. The time I spend with my family – talking, singing, watching TV. The time I have because I chose to work as a freelancer.
- The internet. What would we do without it? It has turned me into an information junkie. Which is a good thing as my work involves a lot of research!
- Social media and instant messaging. My keyboard is my world!
- Being able to indulge in travel and see places.
- My photo albums. Going through them is like a mini vacation.
- The luxury of goofing off from work when I feel like.
- My favorite pair of shoes. I cannot wear shoes when I travel as my feet swell and make it uncomfortable. But my friend got me the perfect pair of shoes that are roomy and cozy. With many pairs of ankle socks in different colors.
- My clutter. Which becomes my cheap keep-fit routine when I spring clean. Ah, the things I discover when I start sorting out stuff. I was always obsessed about being organized, but now I know it is okay to slack off. There are more important things in life. And it is enough to be organized with the things that really matter. What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?
- Each one of you reading this. Thank you!
- Vanita, who makes it possible for me to sleep in peace, knowing she has my back with my blogs.
6 comments
Oh Vidya, how I love you for your arrival in my inbox at the right and perfect moment. I’m feeling out of sorts today after last night’s news and riots in my home state of Missouri. No easy answers for the community of Ferguson as it sits in the world’s spotlight as a pitiful example of how race still divides our lives.
Feeling helpless for my friends and family there and feeling despondent about the state of the world. Then you come along with 50 of the sweetest reminders about gratitude. So in this chaotic moment in time, my dear Vidya, I am grateful for YOU and your reminder to just love. Always love. Lead with compassion. Trust in right answers. Respect another’s differences. And then love some more. (You didn’t know you were telling me all THAT, did you?)
Thank you for offering a secure port in a stormy day.
Much love and big hugs to you!!
Beth recently posted…7 Ways to Grow an Attitude of Appreciation
Oh Beth. My heart aches to read about Ferguson. We were watching the news yesterday and Sury was joking about which place in the US sounded like our name (Missouri) and then, ten minutes later we saw the news. Human beings can choose to be kind or mean. It is sad that choosing the latter makes many people happier. After all, circumstances shape people…and I wish there was a magic wand one could wave and set things right.
Your comment made my eyes fill up. What a great comment to see first thing in my mailbox! I am grateful for your interpretation of my post…long ago I learned that when we focus on the little things (not sweating the small stuff) life more or less takes care of itself.
Thank you, Beth. Your presence here, today, means a lot to me.
Vidya Sury recently posted…Kindness. Always Possible!
This is a great post for Thanksgiving! Clever title, by the way. I found it interesting that you are grateful for having diabetes, it’s nice that you have a positive outlook on everything. All the best.
KW Stout recently posted…Make Progress or Make Excuses
Thank you, Stout! I did go through a very short initial phase of “why me” … but decided to treat it as a wake-up all to consciously live more healthy. The denial was mainly because I do lead a reasonably healthy life…then genetics bit me in the rear. Can’t fight that. 🙂 Thank you for visiting today!
Vidya Sury recently posted…Can Money Buy Happiness? #MicroblogMondays
The doorman must thank you because he now looks more at flowers because of you and finds beauty. Thank you for blogging as i always find your thoughts wonderful to read especially if I am not having a great day. People have a hard time coming up with 10 never mind 50 and i am certain you could have kept going
Birgit recently posted…Julie Andrews-What a Card!(Nyuck, Nyuck)
I love your posts Vidya. I’m grateful for them and I’m grateful for your beautiful heart that writes them. <3
Carolyn Hughes recently posted…The gift of giving.