November 2020 Gratitude

“Gratitude is the currency we can mint for ourselves and spend without fear of Bankruptsy” Fred De Witt.

November began with my mother’s death anniversary, which was on 1^st November, 2003 and she was buried on 2^nd November, All Souls Day –significant days to recall - memories of her conversations, the last birthday celebration at the hospital, the birth of my son after her death, wherein she was optimistic and agreed to stay with me in the hospital for my confinement.

Some memories are so vivid that its difficult to forget; as the time passes there is a sense of gratitude and no regrets for what has gone by,  there comes acceptance that all of us have to move out of this earth some day or the other. The church reminds us every year to recall and remember the dead with gratitude and also remind ourselves to live our lives to the fullest.

I did not want to feel sad thinking about my mother but wanted to do something to keep her alive in my heart storing all the good things about her and being grateful for everything she has done for the family. She loved good food and was kind and generous – so I cooked some fried rice, dal and chicken and shared it with those who were around me and am glad I could get involved in small little acts of kindness in her memory.

At the work front I got into the routine of travelling to work almost every day; except for few days wherein I was not feeling up to the mark; due to the change in weather I developed allergy, severe cold, and cough with light temperature.

Yellow blooms in the neighborhood:)

I did not want to take a chance so decided to take permission to work from home, and took care of myself. I ensured that I took regular steam inhalation,  milk with saffron, pepper, and very little sugar for taste; I am grateful for the flexibility at work; which gave me the option to work from home, wherein I could save the travel time, rest a while, take calls and follow up with  work.

I feel blessed for David and Dorothy who are ready to take care of me; and help me with household chores. Which made me recover fast with lot of attention, and willingness to accommodate and adjust with the situation, of not been demanding but step in manage themselves and also help me simultaneously.

This month there were students who called to thank and appreciate me; long distance calls always makes me happy. There was one student who went home after her exams and called me all way from North East only to thank me for the time I had given when she was in the campus. There was another student who called me and updated me about himself. He had come to me for counseling few years ago. He  reminded me of his name and the issue he came with and told me that he got a government job as a teacher and thanked me for the timely support.

I feel happy when I get call from students and how they have moved on… there was also a session on couple counseling and I had tough time handling as it was domestic violence and the lady was suffering with two small kids. These kind of sessions makes me sad and I wonder how much more time will it take for women to live dignity.

November is also Domestic Violence Awareness month and there was an invite from an NGO to be part of the panel discussions and I happily agreed as I too enjoy discussing social issues.

I was glad to be on the Panel Discussions on Gender Based Violence – Prevalence/Causes /Recourse was held on 28 November, 2020. There were approximately 25 participants. There were 3 panelists who addressed Child sexual abuse, adolescent issues and women facing violence. November being the Domestic Violence awareness month, this webinar was relevant and I am glad that I could participate in these forums and talk about Domestic Violence Prevalence, Causes and Recourse. There were other two panelist who focused on Child sexual abuse and Adolescents.

I am grateful for technology wherein I attended all the zoom meetings, webinars and also took calls for telecounseling from the comfort of my home. I am happy that I could even attend mass online without stepping into the church – it’s a privilege for me to take time to pray and spend quiet time listening to the scripture readings and also inspiring videos which energizes me and keeps me motivated.

I was happy that my close friend’s daughter delivered a baby girl and it was a normal delivery and we were praying for them. My friend was worried because of the situation and in the pandemic whether it would be safe and was constantly getting nervous and asking us to keep praying for her daughter. It was such a joy to hear and see the picture of the baby and everything turned out safe for both mother and child.

I am grateful to attend a 5 day NLP (Neuro Linguistic Program) organised by Centre for Communication and Mind Management (CCMM) Chennai.  The Resource Person was a colleague in my previous organisation, Dr Magimai Pragasam PhD NLP Trainer, NLFP, Florida, USA. 

There were 42 participants from different parts of the country. Resource materials in the form of PPT was shared to all the participants, it was a participatory session with regular review, feed back and evaluations. The resource person was enthusiastic and simplified the content with relevant examples. I remember attending NLP programme more than 3 decades ago and it was a refresher for me. I am thankful for all the learning opportunities I get as I walk along in my journey.

There also so many things coming to my mind; The regular supply of snacks, fruits, dates, anjeer, cashew nuts, pista and a variety of sweets that never runs short is a huge blessing and there is always something different and variety of food that we enjoy, sometimes David gets it and at other time some of our friends and extended family members who are thoughtful,  I am grateful for these things.

                                                Brownie cake prepared by my daughter Dorothy

I am grateful for the service providers, despite the cold weather, they have been regularly collecting garbage, there has been no power cuts which helped me work on my computer and also attend all the virtual meetings without any problems.

I am eternally blessed for the food on my table, a quiet place to rest at the end of the hard day’s work and got up every single morning from my bed with thanksgiving in my heart.   

Added to all the above, my friends who connect with me often; find ways and means to ensure that some how we have a common meeting, update one another and pray for one another. November is also a month of Thanksgiving and its only fitting for me to do this post J

How was our November, 2020? Would love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading my post; would appreciate to hear your thoughts.

I thank vidya for initiating this process of forming a gratitude circle and inviting everyone to share the monthly gratitude post.. If you are interested in joining the Gratitude Circle:

Write a gratitude post,

Add the badge

Post it on the last Thursday of the month and

Add your link to the Gratitude Circle. https://vidyasury.com/

Be Happy & Be Blessed!