What is the key to living inspired? For me it is to always look forward. To never cry over spilled milk. To enjoy the smallest joys of life. To eat slowly. To live in gratitude. To revel in the lives of our children. To be their rock. To give love unconditionally. To respect every creature of God I have the privilege to engage with. To not take life seriously despite its innumerable challenges. To be with the friends I love. To express my love whenever I can. To sit in the garden in the mornings and listen to the birds. To feel the wind on my skin. To be able to live life and not let it pass by. To get off the autopilot. To love. To be with my soulmate. To knowing that love is the only truth. To knowing that each one of us are pure and perfect in all ways.
Most of all it is to live in gratitude. Learning to live our lives as if everything were a miracle. Being always aware of how much we have. It is to not think of what we lack. It is to tune in to the abundance that is already so present in our lives. It is never about half full or half empty; it is to truly feel gratitude that there is something there at all. Be it water or squash or some luscious peaty single malt or simply lemonade. We all know the adage — if life gives you lemons then go make some lemonade. Gratitude is loving that lemonade.
Showing gratitude may not mean that everything in our lives is perfect; it simply means that we are aware of our blessings.
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” — Anonymous
I am grateful that I found my soul mate at the tender age of twenty-two. I am grateful and feel truly blessed that my journey with her has been the highlight of my life.
I am grateful that I have two wonderful sons and they have grown up to be wonderful human beings. I feel great pride when I see them handle their journey.
I am grateful for all the love and support I get from my parents. Despite our ideological differences we still found a way to stay together. I am grateful for that.
I am grateful to my siblings. I love them for who they are and in turn they love me for who I am. I grateful for that.
I am grateful for the love and attention my in-laws have always shown to me and our sons. Even though perhaps they felt that I was not quite enough for their gorgeous daughter. Perhaps they were right. We will never know. But I am grateful that they have loved me at all.
I am grateful for the truly meaningful and solid connections with my friends from my school days. They have been standing by me through all my challenges and have loved me despite my faults and my limitations.
I am grateful for the friendship that began from the first day I entered junior college and has now become my anchor.
I am grateful for the one really solid friendship that I shall always cherish from my first day at university. Even today his thoughts and inputs ensure that I am able to keep my life together. That I am able to stay the course. I am truly grateful for that.
I am grateful for all the wonderful people I have met through my life.
I am grateful to all the people who came into my life during my university days and loved and supported me.
I am grateful most of all to all the people who have worked with me and continue to work with me. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all that they do and all the hard work they put in. I must appreciate all the effort they put in to continuously strive to do better, especially considering that they are dealing with considerable challenges of their own.
I am grateful to all the business associates who have stood by us through all our tough times.
I am grateful for all that I have learned from each of my failures at work.
I am grateful that I have been able to put food on the table for my family and myself even as I stumbled through my business.
I am sincerely grateful for all the amazing food that I get to eat.
I am grateful for the house I have to live in.
I am grateful for the clothes I have to wear.
I am grateful for all that I learn every day of my life.
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” — Buddha
I am grateful for my good health and the good health of all my family, friends and colleagues.
I am grateful for all that I am able to give to all those around me.
I am grateful for all the travelling that I have been able to do over my life. That is something that we love and have loved. It is a special joy whenever I look back at all our experiences. I am most grateful for each of those joyous moments.
I am grateful to all the comforts and joys that the universe has provided for me.
I am grateful for every breath I take.
There is so much to be grateful for. I could go on and on. That does not mean that I don’t have or have not had challenges. In fact, the last few years have been the hardest for me. As an entrepreneur I have faced some extremely difficult times. And at many points I was ready to throw in the towel. Ready to walk away. Ready to end it all. But there was some energy that stopped me. My angels always came to my rescue. They guided me through the hardest decisions. I am so grateful to the angels. And I know that right through I still had a hell of a lot to be grateful for. An understanding and supportive spouse and an understanding and supportive family. Most of all an amazing set of understanding and supportive friends.
So today, I have enunciated only all that I am grateful for. In this public forum I make the commitment that I shall from now onwards only ever look at all that I am grateful for in each and every moment. I assure you that a life lived with gratitude would be a happy life.
“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” — Eileen Caddy
Written By Mohit Gupta
Week 23, June ’20
