So we are doing a fine Whatsapp gratitude course started by Shobhs and all it does is that it reminds us through a message, a quote, a practice, to be grateful. Considering how ungrateful I generally am, I decided to sign up for the course and its been three months since and I have signed up for all three and even sponsored one person each time. One of the things we do is to count three things to be grateful for at the end of the day and since I am telling stories or stuff to Anjali at bedtime, I also carry this exercise and ask her three things she is grateful for that day. She normally starts with the school, her teachers who did something specific, the help, driver uncles etc or the cricket academy, Mallaiah (who she finds fascinating), Ann, Ann's cats, Maya and others.
It looks like the idea is seeping into her more and more. (Not to say that we taught her gratitude since there have been several cases where she has explicitly shown me how to be grateful to maids, the government, electricity etc when she was much younger - without signing up for courses like I am doing now.) The other day our maid bought home some milk pudding made by her sister Manga. Apparently Manga had decided to send us some of it in a box. Anjali was quite taken in by the gesture. 'She works for us and and is giving us this pudding Nanna,' she said amazed. I am glad she noticed that. I asked her is she wanted to give her something in return. 'I have chocolates,' she said. 'We can give her that.' She is on the job now - Manga is not easy to trace.
Yesterday she came to me with this happy look on her face. 'Today I really felt gratitude Nanna,' she said in that tone which said she was not able to fully express what she was feeling. 'I wa sin the school bus when it suddenly stuck me that the watchman uncle at Brahmani's apartments was helping us by keeping her safe, that the driver uncle was doing his best to take us back home safe, the roads, the school...I really felt very full..'.
That's exactly the feeling I get...very full..when I am grateful for what I have in my life. For the people who sustain me, keep me in comfort.
I am glad Anjali is aware and is able to sustain that attitude on her own. I know I have been very ungrateful for the blessings in my life and I am glad I have slowly been nudged by many sources to find this one key that makes my life easier - gratitude. Like Suresh told me yesterday, we cannot go wrong when we have an attitude of gratitude. We are automatically nicer to people, meet them with better vibes and they cannot but be nice to you in return. It's completely win-win - grateful if you win, grateful if you lose. Learning mindset, gratitude, radical forgiveness..they all merge into this feeling. And I believe it leads to the bigger portal - humility and surrender.
It looks like the idea is seeping into her more and more. (Not to say that we taught her gratitude since there have been several cases where she has explicitly shown me how to be grateful to maids, the government, electricity etc when she was much younger - without signing up for courses like I am doing now.) The other day our maid bought home some milk pudding made by her sister Manga. Apparently Manga had decided to send us some of it in a box. Anjali was quite taken in by the gesture. 'She works for us and and is giving us this pudding Nanna,' she said amazed. I am glad she noticed that. I asked her is she wanted to give her something in return. 'I have chocolates,' she said. 'We can give her that.' She is on the job now - Manga is not easy to trace.
Yesterday she came to me with this happy look on her face. 'Today I really felt gratitude Nanna,' she said in that tone which said she was not able to fully express what she was feeling. 'I wa sin the school bus when it suddenly stuck me that the watchman uncle at Brahmani's apartments was helping us by keeping her safe, that the driver uncle was doing his best to take us back home safe, the roads, the school...I really felt very full..'.
That's exactly the feeling I get...very full..when I am grateful for what I have in my life. For the people who sustain me, keep me in comfort.
I am glad Anjali is aware and is able to sustain that attitude on her own. I know I have been very ungrateful for the blessings in my life and I am glad I have slowly been nudged by many sources to find this one key that makes my life easier - gratitude. Like Suresh told me yesterday, we cannot go wrong when we have an attitude of gratitude. We are automatically nicer to people, meet them with better vibes and they cannot but be nice to you in return. It's completely win-win - grateful if you win, grateful if you lose. Learning mindset, gratitude, radical forgiveness..they all merge into this feeling. And I believe it leads to the bigger portal - humility and surrender.
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