Magical & Amazing Month – January,2018

I love the way 2018 began for me, travelling the last day of the year from Vizag and reaching just before the New Year. I was particular that I be at home with my family to begin the New Year J

Glad that I could read a few Blog posts  and also comment to inspire myself… to sustain my motivation in relation to the daily activities, to keep myself healthy and fit. This year I hope to build my capacities in my own area of work. 

I am only too happy and grateful for:

A training on PCOM  & Motivational Interview (MI), which is a skill used in the counseling session for tracking the progress of the client. Which was organised by SEVA, an NGO that works for suicide prevention.

The 5 day training programme on Counseling &Counseling skills for the participants who are working in Telengana Jails, organized by Sahayam Psychological Counseling centre, Hyderabad. I got the opportunity to participate as well as to facilitate a couple of sessions too. … its been a learning experience, relooking at my own subject with a new perspective and listening and motivating myself. One of the beautiful learning for me was to understand how to “host a conversation with oneself” and how that impacts the way I host myself in other relationships and community at large.

Then there were also session on counselling and exercises that reinforced my earlier learnings. The experiential sharing of participants dealing with difficult case stories of inmates in the jail, was interesting and meaningful. This training brought in a lot of insights and provided opportunity for learning and facilitating too.   Once I completed this training I got busy with making reports for everything happened in the 5 day programmeJ so relived every experience once more and came up with a draft report.

This month I attended  a parent teacher meeting at my daughter’s college; followed by the pre final examination for her. I learnt to relax for the first timeJ as Dorothy took total responsibility to manage her preparations … otherwise I used to get more stressed and worried for her exams and will keep on checking with her, as to whether she requires my help… so now to let go and trust her was a liberating  experience ..

When we look through the eyes of gratitude, life becomes Magical & Amazing Place” Jennifer Gayle

January had  some happy/sad moments – one of my niece getting married and I tried evolving a small liturgical booklet that has the sequence of the celebration in the church, and at the same time attended my 3^rd brother Vincent’s 40^th day prayer service. It’s a sort of mixed feelings and I think life’s like that, everything just happens and if we are open to whatever life offers, we enjoy the journey – that’s what I did.

I am thankful to  Neomi a good friend of mine,  for the  pretty purse with my name engraved on it, along with a lovely chain - as I was out of town for my birthday she couldn’t meet me, so in a common meeting she brought this cute little gift and presented me…. I appreciate her thoughtfulness, the time, energy and the effort to find something so beautiful.

This month I visited the community to meet the basthi leaders – it’s a community that YWCA (Young Women Christian Association) of Secunderabad is involved with empowering girls/women.  It was a brief meeting to review the activities and also listen to whats happening in the community and accordingly plan ahead keeping in mind the needs of the community. There was also rangoli competition and a beautiful sight to see the young girls designing, decorating with colors and place looked colourful. While I was impressed by what they learnt in the tailoring unit and I clicked a few photographs.

Then I attended another training programme organized by the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) at Chennai with the purpose of bringing about awareness in the area of Mental Health in our country – glad to be part of the working group …

I took opportunity to meet up and catch up with friends in this city, so started making plans to meet them after the sessions in the evening hours, started picking up some favourite items from my city and was full of enthusiasm to connect with them once again getting to know whats happening in their lives and loving the conversations J it’s a real treat to be surrounded by long distance friends and have fun.. .. feels so good and I enjoyed every moment of it.

It was also fun to meet friends who share the similar outlook towards life; and who partner with you in making a difference in the lives of people. I was eager to share the room with Aparna at Chennai – she is a great friend and we have been working together for more than a decade in the area of service and have evolved so many programmes together for the YWCA and also a privilege to find people who are from similar fields. We keep encouraging and motivating one another as both of us work as counselors in different settings there is lot to talk about, and learn from one another.

I am happy to have scheduled three post this month, as I was away and I did not want to lose the opportunity of posting the following: Just returned today from Chennai, and before the day ends, decided to post all the three scheduled posts here are the links:

http://livealifeofgratitude.blogspot.in/2018/01/tree-love-26.html

https://livealifeofgratitude.blogspot.in/2018/01/watwb-universe-protects-you.html

The third one is the one you are readingJ

I am surprised how this month just slipped away, and its already the first month of the year over and I am writing my first gratitude post J 

Thank you for reading my post, appreciate you and wishing you peace and harmony today and alway!!