I have been cultivating an attitude of gratitude for years now, and 2020 has been a year when its meaning took a whole new level. 2020 has been a year like no other in our lives, and it only makes sense to bid adieu to this year while counting our blessings. I have been thinking about it ever since Corrine had suggested this prompt for early December linky, but I could not get around writing it then. But, hey, can you be ever late in counting your blessings? Yes, it’s never too late to be grateful and count our blessings. In case you are wondering why the number 37, well I turned 37 years fabulous and wiser this year. Considering one blessing for each year I have lived till now, listing 37 blessings is not too difficult. Isn’t it? I must add here that adding this number was also Corrine's idea and a fun one at that I say.
Starting Mid-November this year, I was part of a guided group book reading session conducted by Anupama. We read the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne. It is 28 days assignment based book on making gratitude a part of life. It was a wonderful journey and re-affirmed my belief that the more you are grateful for the things in your life, the more things you will find/get to be grateful for. If you are looking to make gratitude practise a habit, the Magic by Rhonda Byrne is an excellent way to start. While you can read it by yourself and follow the practices; I found the guided group reading session by Anupama beneficial to stick to the month-long reading journey. This is another reason why I felt so motivated to write this post to wrap up this year. So, let’s get started.
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson.
The Top 5 and more!
- My Parents: Can one ever be grateful enough to their parents? I am so thankful to my mom and dad for the amazing parents they have been to me and my siblings. They have been loving, caring and always stretched their limits to do the best for us. They imbibed in us an enthusiasm for life, made us independent and resilient and always strived to make us see the positive in every situation. I am also blessed with amazing parents on my husband’s side who are caring, supportive, and selfless to a flaw.
- The 2 Men in My Life: My husband and the little one - these 2 people keep me on my toes, and I often feel I am multi-tasking and hustling around to make things work for all of us. Well, because of these two, I now know how much one can do in a day (pun intended). A lot has happened in my life because of my husband - my interest in cooking, this blog, my interest in writing, and much more and I am so grateful for the way I have grown with him by my side. And for the little one - he is the light of our lives. My life has found a new purpose ever since he came in our lives - I can never express my gratitude enough for all the small/big moments and experiences we have because of him.
- My Siblings: The experience of growing up with your siblings is something to cherish for a lifetime. I am so grateful to have had a great childhood, and over the years, the bond among us siblings has only grown stronger. All 4 of us live a busy and occupied life with our respective families in different places, but we share the same feeling of love and care and thanks to technology, stay connected despite the physical distance.
- Friends: I have always been blessed to have a small but amazing circle of friends in all my life phases. Right from school, college and later in life. I can’t imagine how life would be without these amazing people in my life - ever so grateful for the beautiful memories I share with them and the many learning of life I had because of their presence.
- My Teachers: For all the lessons, mentoring and the influence that shaped me the way, I am today.
Let the list get rolling...
5 Things About Myself I am Grateful for
One of the things I realised when working my way through the book ‘The Magic’ by Rhonda Byrne is how much we take for granted about ourselves. So, here a few things about myself that I am grateful for because they are instrumental in making me the person I am.
2020 has been a year of many tests and many learnings. Amidst everything the year threw at us, there has been no dearth of blessings in 2020 for me, and I am so grateful for that.
- A roof over my head: Such an obvious thing to be grateful for, that we often miss it.
- Food: To have food that nourishes my body and mind.
- Education: Right from School to College and after. Formal education ends, but learning never stops.
- Work: I have had a very unusual work profile given the different formal education I had. As a freelance content developer now, I am grateful for the varied work I am commissioned for.
- Books: Books are portable magic! Can’t be grateful enough for all the magic books bring into my life.
- This Blog: Although this space of mine has remained neglected in recent years, it has been so instrumental in making me stick to writing.
- Music: Music saves you when nothing else does. There are days when I go about doing the mundane everyday chores with my headphones on. It makes a lot of difference.
- Yoga: Doing yoga a part of my life has been one of the best things I have done for myself in recent times. It has helped me in my fitness journey, and it has also helped me become more mindful.
- Sky, Sunrises and Sunsets. I can’t have enough sky gazing and watching sunrises and sunsets. That’s like free therapy for me.
- Moon. I love watching the moon in the night sky, and I am glad that my little one has taken after me here. We both love the moon.
- Flowers. For the way, they add beauty to everything.
- Trees. For the oxygen, they provide and for making life sustainable on the planet.
- Internet: The internet enables our lives today. I can’t imagine how life would be without it.
- My Laptop: All my writing happens here!
- Mobile: One of the most used gadgets - I use it for a range of things - connecting with people, clicking pictures, reading, buying stuff, listening to music, going places, and more!
5 Things About Myself I am Grateful for
One of the things I realised when working my way through the book ‘The Magic’ by Rhonda Byrne is how much we take for granted about ourselves. So, here a few things about myself that I am grateful for because they are instrumental in making me the person I am.
- My health: I am grateful for the good health I have been bestowed with. It is one of the greatest blessings in life. When we are aware that health is wealth, we learn to take care of our mental and physical health and never take it for granted.
- My Mind: To have a positive outlook towards life, although all the challenges is a blessing.
- My Keenness to Learn New Things: I am a life long learner, and I hope I stay this way all my life.
- My Ability to Write: Writing comes to my rescue when I have to let go of something difficult.
- My ability to multi-task: I don many roles in my day-to-day life, and my ability to multi-task has served me well in many ways. I do take care to have mindful breaks in between so that I don’t overdo it.
2020 has been a year of many tests and many learnings. Amidst everything the year threw at us, there has been no dearth of blessings in 2020 for me, and I am so grateful for that.
- I am grateful that I have been in sound health throughout the year. My family and extended family have remained safe and sound despite the challenges thrown by the pandemic.
- Despite early challenges in staying indoors when the pandemic began, my kid remained mostly co-operative. We had more quality time together, and some great memories to cherish.
- I got back to regular yoga practice since the year began and the new normal of the pandemic life made it easier for me to stick to it.
- Despite the lockdown restrictions early on, we never had any scarcity of food and essentials. And we were blessed to be able to extend a helping hand to those in need.
- I finally made time to work with the fine liner pens I had bought months earlier. I had a great time creating some floral art and abstract patterns, something I had meant to try for a long time, but never had the time to try.
- I will remember 2020 as the year when I was finally able to stick to journaling. Honestly speaking, journaling helped me prioritise and plan my days better when I had to manage everything around the house myself.
- I read more books than I have read in recent years.
- I am grateful that technology enabled us to stay connected with family and friends, especially during the lockdown months.
- Virtual Zoom family meet-ups. Yes, birthdays and anniversaries, it was a year of virtual celebrations.
- Virtual College Reunion. This one had been due for years, and the pandemic made us all meet online.
- We travelled twice this year, once before the pandemic started and one later. WFH enabled us to stay with family longer, and the little one had a great time with his grandparents. I am grateful for the safe travelling experience.
- The pandemic has taught us a new way to do things. So virtual book clubs are also a thing now. I am so grateful to have found my little tribe with whom I connect over books and more!
Well, that makes it 37 if you count. It was a gratifying experience for me to write down the things I am grateful for.
Have you made practising gratitude a part of your routine? Try it, and I can say it will make all the difference.
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