January 2024 Gratitude

“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.” Will Arnet

I am glad to complete  this gratitude post today the last day of the first month of 2024 – a task   that I enjoy and look  forward to every month. Gratitude keeps me happy and its habit that I created for myself for quite some time now. I began with noting down in a small book which I kept as a gratitude journal and over the years of practice. I have somehow mastered the art of learning to be grateful at all times despite whatever the situations in life.

Now I have stopped writing the journal but I keep a count of everything that happens the whole day; by beginning my day with gratitude in my heart which sets the tone for the whole day, and as I move around doing my task I keep singing songs of gratitude, whether I am working in the kitchen, riding my bike and walking around. Then I make sure that my day ends with gratitude as I go to rest, spending few minutes by recalling and  reviewing  my day and thanking the Lord for the good and the bad believing that I need both joy as well as lessons for learning.

By the end of the month I am ready just high lighting the main points which I would like to share in my blog post. With technology it gets easier for my Google photos keeps track of the whole month of whatever I have been involved with, that helps me post some pictures too. I believe that Gratitude is the only best attitude that will not just keep me happy, but also enables and empowers me to stay motivated; I keep counting my blessings day after day, being mindful of every small little happenings - I realize how much blessed and favored I am in  life.  

So here goes my gratitude list:

I am thankful to be alive and healthy, despite the weather that constantly keeps changing, I am in good health. Hyderabad is still cold in the mornings as well as in the evenings. I did catch cold but luckily it did not last for more than 3 days, and I feel grateful to be in good health.

I am blessed to get to go to work without a break for whole month; being regular to work is a discipline. I am glad that I could work and address so many issues of my students. This month there were a lot of problems related to anxiety, obsessions and relationship issues and few of the referrals related to domestic violence, which we refer to the NGOs for follow up. I am grateful to have the right connections to be able to net work and  collaborate with like minded institutions.

This month there were guests to our centre and it was great interacting with them, understanding the mental health issues and also linking to the other services kept me busy as I needed to coordinate with different institutions and persons to ensure that the visit was fruitful for them, this also paved way for some sightseeing a few of the popular places in Hyderabad like the charminar, giving a taste of the authentic biryani, Birla temple and the science measum, with limited time this was just enough.

I am also grateful to  get to  taste some goan snacks  -Bibinca and Josh a sweet dishes which came all the way from one of my elder sister’s friends. Appreciate their thoughtfulness and happy to have a taste of it, and could also share with family.

Glad for the opportunity to attend a conference representing  the  local YWCA of Secunderabad –South East Region Conference in Trichy for a  couple of days..It was pongal holidays and I did not have to take off as the campus was closed for the government had declared holiday. I loved the way the airport was decorated for the festival. There was not much time so I just casually went around to the closest place called Tirvannamali one of the ancient temple built on a hill, being the festival the whole place was crowded so we just went around this place which was full of shops, as I walked around this place, I found a restaurant  and tried my favorite Dosa and filter coffee while my friends moved around looking at few of the shops that were open. The conference was good and there was a lot of learning’s, interaction and understanding about our vision, mission and goals.

I grateful and happy that my daughter Dorothy represented the National board and accompanied us and she also took a session on one of the sub themes – Building youth. It was a pleasure to watch her prepare so well and take the session in an interactive manner.

I am grateful to David for taking charge of the house in our absence and also maintaining everything well so we did not have much work to do – in fact he made mutton curry and kept hot rice while our flight was delayed and we reached home hungry, and the ate delicious food, and its always nice to be back home.

This month I am happy to have some of the PG students from Little Flower Degree College for a field visit to our centre. After which they also requested for a session on CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) and its uses in treating Neurotic Disorders. I am grateful for these opportunities for it helps me to refresh my memory to read up and update myself to be able to take the session. There were 27 students and it was an interactive session, lots of questions and I enjoyed responding to them. I am grateful for these opportunities for these kind of experiences helps us grow.

I am grateful that the process of my two wheeler registration was done in this month after repeated reminders with the agent. I am hopeful that within few more days. I will get the registration and name plate for the two wheeler.

I am grateful for all the people in my life; with whom I have been interacting for the various reasons, our panel board member a psychiatrist who is always available, a kind priest who helped one of the young person find accommodation, another counselor who went out of her way to help a needy person with a career assessment.

I am grateful this month despite the busy schedules – there was still time for some rest and relaxation; I was glad to de clutter my cupboard, sorted out my files, and I could just clear up everything and I felt a lot better.

I am grateful this month I could watch a classic Telugu movie on YouTube, it was a bit slow but watching with my daughter was fun.

I am grateful for the visit of my younger sister, who came after many years and we could have lunch together at my place. She brought a sari for me as she couldn’t get it on my birthday, I am grateful for these small joys.

I am grateful to be connected to my friends; who keep calling and updating me about themselves, and also find ways to uplift one another.

This month there were also birthday’s- I recalled and remembered my dad’s birthday which was on the 9^th of this month and also wedding anniversary of my parents who lived for more than 50 years, now they are no more but memories of them fill me with gratitude. There were also few more birthdays within the family and friends and I connected with all of  them  through whatsapp messages.

The end of the month was death news – one of my mother’s best friend’s husband passed away, he had slipped and fallen in the bathroom and his hip was fractured. He was hospitalized for a month and suddenly passed away; I attended the funeral mass and met my mother’s friend who was weeping inconsolably for as a couple they always went out together.

I met their children, had no words to comfort, just hugged them and stay in the church premises for a while and came home with a heavy heart as the memories of my mother came alive in my mind for they used to frequently visit my mother. Some memories do not fade easily no matter how many years pass by. I am grateful for every experience of my life for all of them have an impact on my personality and makes me a little more kind and generous in my relationships.

Thank you for reading my post; I hope you had a great month, would love to hear your thoughts!

May you Be happy and Blessed !