21 Day Challenge ! DAY 2

I am participating in EVERYDAY GYAAN 21 Day Challenge  

1 May -   21 May, 2015

DAY 2

I am glad to  repost  this  post that I wrote earlier, which goes  very well by this quotation.

I was wondering, and asking myself what is Gratitude? is it only saying thanks to those who do something good to us, or offer us something, without being asked to do so. Or is it beyond that, I began  to explore a little more on what gratitude is all about.

Gratitude is not just saying thanks, thanks is such a common word, and is used so often, some times it comes as a auto response, without even thinking, but gratitude is more than thanks,  it is utilizing our resources and sharing it for the good of all.

 God has blessed us with so much of talents and capacities and the purpose is to not only use it for ourselves but for the good of others.

Gratitude means being responsible specially when we earn or  receive monetary help, the money we get must be used in a responsible way, sense of gratitude enables us to use money prudently for the good of oneself and good of all.

Gratitude is being sensitive to the needs of those around us, to reach out to them in times of crisis or problems.  I am blessed to have so many people around me, who have been kind and are always with me, some of them go out of their way to help me out, especially in the last few months, my gratitude list is full, and short up – all those who have been visiting us regularly, comforting our family, for the doctors, physiotherapist and friends who in different ways have helped me to cope through this situation.

Lastly I feel gratitude must lead us into action, and reach out to those who need us. We do not have to go very far, we can see it around us. For me I have a list to reach out, some of them are:

• Phone call to a lonely senior citizen who waits for some one to talk,
• Few minutes of listening to a youth who is confused and requires some guidance,
• Domestic worker, who requires help to fill up an application loan form to start a small business
• A note of thanks to a friend, who has been thoughtful
• A word of appreciation to the auto driver for bringing my daughter safely every day from school.
• Visiting  a sick person
• Praying for the sponsorer who supports  my daughter for education

I keep updating my list, and I find there is so much we can do, sometimes even without stepping out of our home.

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

-Albert Schweitzer

 Have a grateful day !

Relax - Life is short, enjoy it !

Press that 'relax' button now!

While I was thinking about doing  a session in one of the colleges, I came across this example which was very fitting for the subject I was preparing, and I found its quite true, enjoy reading, it does inspires.  Read on….

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."

"If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on." 

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

"Relax; pick them up later after you’ve rested. Life is short Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

• Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
• Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
• Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
• If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
• If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
• It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
• Never buy a car you can’t push.
• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
• Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
• Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
• When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
• Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
• You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
• Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
• We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have a nice day and Be Happy !

You are a Miracle

Every time I take my son Emmanuel out for a function or a social gathering, he becomes the topic of discussion. Many people feel that I must do something for him. In their eagerness to help me, they advise  me to take him to a good doctor, or take for some healing service, or find some alternative medicine, so that he will be like any other child.  These people are good, they want to help me, but they are ignorant on issues related to a Down syndrome child. Earlier I used to get annoyed with their advice and suggestions, but gradually I have learnt to accept all types of people in my life.

The other day, one of my sister's friends saw Emmanuel and started advising me immediately to take him for a prayer meeting, as the 'brother' who prays there is very powerful, and Emmanuel will be fine. She hinted that I must have faith and go with the expectation of seeing a miracle and my son will be transformed.

I listened to her patiently and  when she stopped speaking I told her that for me my son is a miracle, and he is one of the greatest miracles of my life, I am not against prayer meetings or any preacher and I don’t mind going for prayer. But I do not believe that miracle has to be always associated with something sensational and spectacular.

If one has faith, then every day is a miracle in life, I believe that I am unique, special and irrepeatable in history, that enables me to see myself as a miracle of life, and I want to say the same to every one who encounters me in this world.  My two children are a miracle to me, as I watch them grow beautifully, I am filled with awe and wonder and thank God a million times for blessing me with these kids, for I have learnt so much from them, and I continue to learn. Believe in yourself, there is infinite power within you, and Believe that You are a Miracle today

“There are two ways to live your life, one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.”  Albert Einstein

Be Happy !

Every Relationships is Sacred

Relationships are, an important reality in life, we are all connected to each other, I believe there is a purpose in all the relationships that we share, we are all born with a reason, and we have a very unique and significant role in this world, we are here to discover and find out what each of us are meant to be doing during our life time here on earth.

In order to discover who we are, and what we are meant to be doing, we are called to live in a community, despite differences in color, caste, religion, gender etc. I am happy in my life, for encountering so many people, who have in many ways helped me find my self to some extent, and I still continue my journey in understanding myself.

Some of the things that have helped me in this process have been:

• I have learnt to appreciate my life – that is to look at life with gratitude and believe that this will lead to the right place where I am meant to be.

• I believe I am special, and every person who lives on this earth is special, my job is to explore and discover my specialness.

• While discovering myself, I am also challenged to resolve issues with persons who are very different from me, while I reflect on what I have learnt because of my association with him/her I can see how that person has helped me grow, and why I was meant to know him/her.

·        This way we will know that every relationship we share in our life is SACRED.

Have a nice day!

Celebrating Motherhood

While I helped my sister-in-law with packing and preparing for hospitalization, during her recent pregnancy, my thoughts took me back to my own first pregnancy. It brought back memories of all those lovely people in my life who had been a great source of strength and support, and I thank God for the gift of them in my life. I recall my brother and sister law, Danny and Mary who made me feel at home in their house, as my mom was living with them, I moved to their house to be with my mom. Mary was very kind and looked after me well, taking care of my diet, my health needs, and also she was with me in the hospital when I delivered my first baby girl, who was a miracle in my life.

Despite having their own two girls in school, they reached out to me, which always fills me with gratitude whenever I recall. Another very important and significant person was Dr Evita Fernandez, who inspired me with my very first meeting and interaction at her hospital. I can never forget her; she beautifully accompanied me in my journey into motherhood.

She was not only helped me with my physical health, but also enabled me to look at the faith dimension, an angle that is so very important, and which challenged the core of my own Christian faith. She was a person with beautiful combination of knowledge, wisdom and faith, she taught me to celebrate motherhood. I am glad to have known her, and today I want to pray for her and bless her with the very best in life. Thanks Dr Evita, you shall continue to live in our lives! Thanks for making a difference!

Marriage Anniversary

Eleven years have passed by since my marriage. Time just flies. When I look back, there is so much to share. Marriage has transformed me and has given me a new definition of who I am, and it has made me sensitive, humane, courageous and responsible. Marriage brings in problems in perceptions of how one views oneself, life, God and others – and it becomes a challenge in accepting another person in our life who is very different from us, in every way.

Living together provides an opportunity to look at the weaknesses and limitations of our spouses, demanding us to accept and accommodate ourselves in the new situation in order to give a chance for the marriage to succeed.  

My experience says that only a happy person can be happy in marriage, as happiness is a choice and a decision one makes in life. I have come across inspiring persons who were happy as a spinsters and now continue to remain happy even after marriage. It's not that they are lucky. When we look at their lives, they are faced with enough and more challenges. They are happy because they have had made a decision to be happy,  no matter what happens in life.

Today I am thankful to God for the last eleven years of our married life, and all that marriage has brought in, a combination of joys, sorrows, sickness, health and above all learnings which has made me not only tough but also tender Marriage has also brought in beautiful relationships, deepened my faith in God and has taught me to enjoy the journey.

Today I am thankful for all the persons in my life who have accompanied me, my parents who brought me up and gave me space to grow, my brothers and sisters from whom I learnt the joy of sharing and caring in a large family, my husband and his family for their support while I worked, my friends for being my inspiration and strength.

Today I celebrate the joy of journeying together, sharing what I have received with love and gratitude.

May you be Blessed today!

 

A Little Candle

I came across this small poem by CB Dennison, which I felt is simple and sweet,
read on …

It takes no special talent,
Makes no difference
Who you are,
To light a little candle
That outshines
The brightest star.

It doesn’t call for sacrifice,
To provide a little light,
That might be the
Ray of hope
For someone
Through the night.

So light up your
Little candle
No matter how small
The flame,
You might just get the
Feeling that even you are the
Not the same

I am a little candle today! how about you ?