I am not a grateful person normally. I am more worried about things I do not get than things I get. There is much to be grateful for in my life, the many gifts and miracles I already enjoy, but somehow my mind is trained to go and examine what I do not have. Consequently I spend a mere moment on what I have and focus entirely on what I do not.
So when I started doing some gratitude exercises as part of a group Shobha had started recently I was amazed at how many gifts I missed, am missing, and worse, making what I have into something not good enough. Anyway, the fact that it made me conscious is a huge bonus in itself and I hope to build on it and be a better person for it.
One gift stood out and showed me how much I take things for granted. My sister Nalini had called me a few days ago and asked if I would be home and could she drop in. I said I would and she could come. She came home and gifted me this beautiful Sheaffer pen. 'I thought I'd use it to write a text book on Pathology,' she said. 'But I don't seem to be making any headway. You write, so it will help you. Write many more books.' It was such a wonderful gift for someone like me who is does not indulge in more than 20 bucks on a pen (actually less to be honest).
The gift comes at a very interesting time too. I normally do not spend much time looking at pens etc and the only interest I get is when my good friend Vinod Ekbote shows me some of his rare pen collections or talks about them (he loves them). But recently when I was in Landmark with Anjali, I spent time looking at the pens on display. Parker, Cross etc. I showed Anjali the pens and the prices - some were 8000 etc. Mentally I told myself, maybe I should get a good looking pen, not 8k but some 2k.
And two days later it arrives.
I ask and the universe gives. I am once again made to wonder what I am asking for really and whether I am trusting the universe enough. It's now among the many pens gifted to me - Tharian gave me one two decades ago (with a lovely note that I still have), Monica gave me a sleek Cross pen, Naresh gave me one that belonged to his father (still have it), Sunil Shivsale bought me a lovely pen when he saw I did not have one at the Bangalore launch of 50 Not Out, Anjali gave me a glitter pen for friendship day last year, Shobha gave me so many, Nalini's latest...and so many more surely that I cannot remember. The world does pamper you. (But we are looking for the one thing that is not there.)
Thank you Nalini. Thank you world.
So when I started doing some gratitude exercises as part of a group Shobha had started recently I was amazed at how many gifts I missed, am missing, and worse, making what I have into something not good enough. Anyway, the fact that it made me conscious is a huge bonus in itself and I hope to build on it and be a better person for it.
One gift stood out and showed me how much I take things for granted. My sister Nalini had called me a few days ago and asked if I would be home and could she drop in. I said I would and she could come. She came home and gifted me this beautiful Sheaffer pen. 'I thought I'd use it to write a text book on Pathology,' she said. 'But I don't seem to be making any headway. You write, so it will help you. Write many more books.' It was such a wonderful gift for someone like me who is does not indulge in more than 20 bucks on a pen (actually less to be honest).
The gift comes at a very interesting time too. I normally do not spend much time looking at pens etc and the only interest I get is when my good friend Vinod Ekbote shows me some of his rare pen collections or talks about them (he loves them). But recently when I was in Landmark with Anjali, I spent time looking at the pens on display. Parker, Cross etc. I showed Anjali the pens and the prices - some were 8000 etc. Mentally I told myself, maybe I should get a good looking pen, not 8k but some 2k.
And two days later it arrives.
I ask and the universe gives. I am once again made to wonder what I am asking for really and whether I am trusting the universe enough. It's now among the many pens gifted to me - Tharian gave me one two decades ago (with a lovely note that I still have), Monica gave me a sleek Cross pen, Naresh gave me one that belonged to his father (still have it), Sunil Shivsale bought me a lovely pen when he saw I did not have one at the Bangalore launch of 50 Not Out, Anjali gave me a glitter pen for friendship day last year, Shobha gave me so many, Nalini's latest...and so many more surely that I cannot remember. The world does pamper you. (But we are looking for the one thing that is not there.)
Thank you Nalini. Thank you world.
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