Happiness Happens #Gratitude

There’s always, always, always something to be grateful for! No matter what life situation we’re facing, there’s always the silver lining. And there is no therapy like gratitude therapy, eh?

Here’s my list of happy this week…

Gratitude for…

1. Campus. My son joined college on August 1 at IISER Mohali and it was delightful to spend a couple of weeks on the campus, staying at the guest house there. It is a beautiful campus and kind of a mini-vacation for me, although I got a lot more done in the mornings, thanks to the quiet than I’d ever achieve at home. But hey, I love the distractions!
2. Son adjusting at his new place. I am deeply grateful that he has the right mindset and is making a real effort to settle down to his new routine, bless him.
3. Kind people. Oh they are everywhere. Kindness begets kindness. The folks at the guest house were so very hospitable, serving delicious food and hovering over us all the time. They always had a smile and something nice to say to me. My son claims it is because I am like that too – but hey, there is no guarantee of this in life. So it was a real treat.
4. Good food. Have to mention it separately. The love with which the food was served at the guest house, besides making me overeat sometimes, warmed my heart. Then, after I returned home, I continue to be grateful for the healthy food I eat every day. It is crazy to cook and not sit and eat with my son, and that often brings on the tears, but good memories and the joking on the phone keep me going.
5. Internet. Oh, I experienced what it means to be offline when the wi fi connection went off. Sometimes it was stressful, when we had to do something online, but at other times, we barely missed it. I mean, given the choice of watching a peacock strolling on the lawn and freaking out over not being able to connect to a website, what would you choose? Right. I thought so. Whatever it is.
6. Nature. The best. During my stay at my son’s institute campus, I thoroughly enjoyed  my closeness with nature. There is a lot of wilderness across the 125 acre campus and this means a number of varieties of rare birds. You’ll know what I mean when I say peacocks, egrets, herons, starlings, lapwings, hoopoes, swallows, kites and at least another 50 species are common. I would get so excited when a peacock calmly crossed my path! Absolutely enthralling.
7. Reading. Books. I am always grateful for this. Thanks to NetGalley, I have a steady supply of excellent books. I spent a lot of time indulging in catching up with my ever-growing must-read book list.
8. I learned a new way to mop from the person who cleaned our rooms at the guest house. Very clever, I thought. He just wrapped a wet cloth around a regular squeegee mop and in 5 minutes, was done mopping the room! I learn something new every day!
9. What’s better than finding a wonderful human being and a fab writer? Not much. Meet Vince. 
10. A fun evening out with blogger friends. We actually won a group selfie contest!
11. Bonding with neighbors and watching their kids play. So much joy. The best music is children’s laughter.
12. My bank relationship manager’s kindness and patience, helping me file my taxes. Phew!
13. Attending a neighbor’s daughter’s wedding and meeting a lot of old friends who’ve moved out of our building. So nice to catch up. And yes, I even wore a saree for the occasion and loved it.
14. Getting back in touch with a bunch of school mates. Whatsapp rocks, really!
15. Enjoying the purging and cleaning. It is a long and winding road to the Holy Grail that’s the finish line, but I am going to enjoy every inch of the journey, getting there. Especially if I keep stumbling on his sketches and drawing all the time!
16. Friends for their love during the past month. They constantly support me no matter what.
17. Clients. I work with some wonderful people and really appreciate the rapport we share. Bonus? Doing what I love and loving what I do!

Gratitude is the fastest and surest route to happiness, no?

Thank you

August is Happiness Happens Month – check out the (not so) Secret Society of Happy People for fun resources, inspiration and celebrate happiness!

So, how has August been for you so far? Do join us with your own gratitude post for our monthly Gratitude Circle Bloghop that goes live on the last Thursday every month – cohosted by Corinne and me. The linky is open until September 23.

Grab the badge above, link to this post, write your own and then add your post link to the linky below.

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Looking forward to the wave of gratitude posts,

Love, Vidya

I am also joining the Ten Things of Thankful, a weekly bloghop cohosted by A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group!