Gratitude List for August 2017

Here goes my gratitude list for the month of August in no particular order, but at random:

Gift of lovable friends and families – some of them are colleagues, companions – the common factor that binds us is the commitments for the social cause, and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people, and also women and community.

Visit to the fathimapuram a shrine 43 kms away from the city, what makes it memorable and thankful is the families who accompanied us; and the time spent in praying together, away from the noise of our daily routines and being in a quiet, calm and peaceful place, enjoying the company one another and having fellowship lunch.

This month I am grateful for gift of Aparna, a close friend with whom I have worked for more than a decade, and still continue to enjoy her company; Aaron a 7 years old child who lives in the first floor of our flat –a little friend of my daughter J  who was excited to cut the cake; thankful for that day as I did not have to make dinner, as the family sent us Biryani and cakes.

I am also grateful for two more friends who are not in the country; but are close to my heart as they have always been good friends of mine – thinking of them and praying for all the difference they make in the lives of those surrounding them. For the beautiful memories created in my life is something that I will always cherish.

Enjoyed watching a movie TOILET with my friend Aparna , an inspiring story of a young bride who refuses to live with her husband, due to lack of toilet facility in the in laws house. Thus bringing in a big change in perceptions and minds of the elders in that village; to do away from open defecation. It’s a true story from one of the villages in north India.
Also watched Harry met Sejal as I love to watch Shahrukh khan J with my friends. The movie was very slow and  despite all the flaws  it was fun being together with friends and laughing away for silly reasons. 

Pictures by Maria Dorothy

Grateful for the opportunity for my daughter to attend a youth conference at Delhi for two days on the occasion of the International youth day this month. I am happy to see her growing in confidence and willing to explore and open herself to new experiences in life. What was very touching was her thoughtfulness wherein she picked up small little things for us and her friends.  She bought a lovely bag for me, I feel so happy and excited like a child J

I am grateful to God and  happy for my husband David who is persistently following up on the all the process required  to establish a proper clinic in our community to reach out to those who are sick and feel vulnerable to go big hospitals.

There was NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) visit to Osmania University, my work place; It was a great feeling to see every one busy in campus- the place was getting cleaned up and every record getting updated and all of us working hard, kept us busy for the month.  Preparation in the form mock drills visiting every department, to see the presentations/reports and showcasing our work.:)

I am thankful to my sister in law Mary for picking up some very beautiful jewelry (I enjoy wearing junk to my workplace everyday) to match my daily wear... Just loved them and grateful for her thoughtfulness.

I am enjoying the Tree Love post initiated by Parul, and continuing the series as I love green and happy spreading it on my blog.

This month I tried cooking something which I never did before and enjoyed learning the art of making cutlet & ginger chutney with Pesarattu J I even made a blog post for what I learnt:

http://livealifeofgratitude.blogspot.in/2017/08/my-experiment-with-pesarattu-dosa.html

Got a surprise gift from a good friend of mine – a scent bottle J on friendship day, appreciated the effort, and was glad to connect with her and was happy to spend time talking endlessly about our livesJ

This month I was glad to meet a family who travelled almost 250 kms only to say “Thanks” to me and complimented me for the work I am doing in the campus. I was moved to tears when I heard them expressing their gratitude.

I was very impressed with the family who walked in our centre with so much reverence, removing their slippers, with folded hands blessed me and the assistant – literally stating that we at the centre our the guardians as they live in the remotest village and have no easy access to regularly visit their son who stays in the hostel. Sometimes we don’t realize even small little compassionate words spoken as a matter of fact makes a huge difference to those who are in crisis situation.

Today being the last Thursday of this month is also the last day of August, 2017 – and I am reviewing the month and counted every blessing; adding to my joy. I am grateful for the good health that I enjoy and thanks to David who has been very particular and enabling me to follow the diet and motivating me to take time for myself while he stepped in the kitchen to complete small tasks and over all maintenance at home.

I am grateful for regular dose of inspirations – I am enjoying reading Helen Keller’s life history & also Sachin Tendulkar’s Autobiography, listening to some very inspiring authors on u tube and watching videos of Prem Rawat who promotes peace education.

The coming month September has so many birthdays beginning with David’s niece, followed by my daughter’s, my nephews child and a few of our common friends kids. So we decided to go out shopping to pick dress for Dorothy and a few more for our near and dear ones. Glad for the gift of these children in our lives and for the joy they add.

This month I have been reading some very interesting blog post By Arvind Devalia & Shilpagarg

• http://www.arvinddevalia.com/blog/2010/03/24/how-to-live-your-life-as-if-everything-is-a-miracle
• http://shilpaagarg.com/2017/08/err-human-forgive-divine.html

I am glad to be part of gratitude circle, hosted by Vidya at 
http://vidyasury.com/2017/07/making-my-own-normal-gratitude-circle.html. 
You are most welcome to join in:

Thank you for reading my post, hope you had a great month August, wishing you a happiness and peace in the new month September, 2017.

Stay Blessed!!