I am assuming many of you are busy celebrating Memorial Day weekend with friends and family. To many of us this is just a long weekend or a holiday. To some, its a reminder of the lives lost. To me, its a reminder to be grateful for what I have in my life. Many of us take for granted the things that we should be the most grateful for in life. I have lived in this country alone for five years now and this is the first weekend I am spending with several of my family members. Like many of you, I take family for granted and haven't expressed my gratitude towards them. There might be other important people, places or things that you might take for granted, so I hope to encourage you to reflect on those overlooked aspects of your life that you absolutely cannot live without and create your own gratitude list. Here is mine:
1. Family: Like many of you, I might get into several fights and get irritated by many of them. But I cannot picture a life without any one of them. As annoying and irritation your sibling or an aunt/uncle might be, I wouldn't have had a lot of laughter without their annoying behaviors in my life. So I am truly grateful for my large family, regardless of how annoying and embarrassingly crazy they behave.
2. Health: Many of us live a crazy stressful life and my life is no different. I am constantly stressed about something or the other. I am constantly running from one place to the other. I ignore the beauty of my surroundings on a daily bases. But wait, stop, how is my crazy lifestyle even possible without my health cooperating with me? So I want to remind you all and myself that we need to slow down and be grateful for the current health we have and work towards improving it. It may sound silly but I have each functioning body part on my gratitude list, what about you?
3. Friends: As an extrovert, I love being surrounded by several people. But over the years, I have realized its not about having many friends. The ones who are there for you, no matter how often you see them or spend time with them, are the ones I am truly grateful for in my life. I would not have gotten through many difficult times without your wisdom and support.
4. Current moment: Many of us take for granted the current moment and are focused on either the past or the future. I think, I am guilt of this as well. The current moment has so much to offer us. The beauty around us can only be cherished if we soak in the current moment and express our gratitude towards it.
5. Struggles: Many of you might disagree with this last one. But I am also grateful for all the challenges and struggles I have faced in life. I would not be who I am today without them. They have molded me into the strong, wise, resilient, successful woman I am today. So thank you challenges and struggles, you have taught me a lot and also made me feel grateful for times when you aren't around.
I am also grateful for this opportunity to share some of the most important things on my gratitude list and would encourage you to start reflecting on yours!
