Gratitude.

Gratitude

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

I  have quoted  above a saying  by  Albert Schweitzer  which says that we must be thankful to a person, who has lit a flame within us. I am thankful to Corinne  as she  rekindled   the spirit  of gratitude within me by  organising  posts on gratitude  for the last ten days. With a renewed  enthusiasm  I pondered on the subject and went back to my  seven decades of existence.  In my 78^th years of life  I can say that

1.     I am thankful to God Almighty  for all His mercies.  It is God who gave me the strength to  face all   trials and tribulations in my  life with  grace  and  benevolence. All  happy moments  in life  are gifts  bestowed  by Him.

2.     I  am  grateful  that I had very  loving  parents. They provided  me all comforts of life. I studied in best schools  and colleges. The affection  showered on me inculcated  in me  a spirit  of confidence, tolerance, determination and fortitude.

They were very liberal in their approach to life.  I was allowed to marry a man of my choice.

3.       I am grateful to my beloved husband for being my friend, philosopher and guide. In our 54 years of married life, he has been like rock behind me. His love, affection and concern for me is unparallel. In my profession there were many hurdles, which  I could handle successfully. Because I was I always confident that my dear hubby was with me.  I had to undergo several surgeries like ( i). Corneal ulcer for which I had to be hospitalised for three weeks. (ii) Umbilical hernia (3&4) cataract  of both eyes  and (5) life threatening  cancer, and several other ailments. It was  his love, support and inspiration which  gave me the strength to bear the pain  without  any  difficulty and ramification.  These days he is himself not keeping well, but he is more concerned for me.

4.     I am grateful to my children for their love and respectful attitude for us in our old age. They lovingly take care of our physical and emotional needs. My sweet grand children are a gift of God. All four of them give us succour and sustenance.

5.     My friends, colleagues and neighbours have always been helpful. I think of them with gratitude.

6.     I acknowledge with thanks about my teachers, who laboured hard to enable to stand on my own with dignity.

7.     Last but not the least I am grateful to God. It is under His benediction that I learnt to browse on my computer at this age. It is His grace that I can remain mentally active. It has enabled me to be friendly with people all over the world. I have developed a bond with personalities like Corinne, Shilpa Garg, BK Chowla, Reshma, Sunita ,Anil Kurup Padmaja, KParthsarthi, Rahul , Alef  and many others. I can state with gratitude that remaining in touch with my on line friends, keeps me moving.

    In  the end I present a  beautiful quotation written by Melody Beatiie which contains the essence of gratitude in our  life.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns  denial into acceptance,  chaos to order, confusion to clarity.It can turn a meal  into a feast. It can turn house into a home, a stranger into a friend.Gratitude makes sense of our past,brings peace for  today,and creates a vision for tomorrow."

This post is written in response to Ms Corinne's  # Living  Gratitude