Articles

The Lost and Found

by Sowjanya M

Did you thank someone today? Did you thank God for something today? Did you thank life for the endless surprises that it threw your way?

How do you feel when you find some money in the pockets of your old jeans or wallet while decluttering? While cleaning, how do you feel when you find something thing that means a treasure to you and was lost for a while?

Lost and found – gratitude.

Grateful, thankful and happy.

There is no zone in our mental and physical landscapes that the pandemic has left untouched. If we were to write a note and fill a jar for what came our way due to pandemic, we would see fretfulness, fright, lonesomeness, helplessness, and tiredness. Many lives lost, lakhs of livelihoods turned upside down, and the vagueness of not knowing when we will see a vaccine or pandemic-free dawn, the multiple lockdowns and relaxations, the new normal- mask-wearing, gloves wearing and safe social distancing normal. In such exceptional times, what role has gratitude come to play? When things are taken away from us, we find ourselves concentrating on what we have and life teaches gratitude for what we have. It may not be instantaneous, but it comes our way.

Gratitude creates a balance and helps focus on imploring inwardly and observing outwardly. Forced to stay indoors, it was but natural that our contemplation and our attention turned inwards. Based on the comprehension that life can change in a jiffy, our gratitude has definitely grown, certain things are forced to slow down, we have learned to swing our attention to the trivial things at home, to what we have, to our health, and to our lives. The need to swing attention to the things that we might not notice in ordinary times has led many to take up the practice of gratitude journaling and also writing gratitude notes and putting them in a jar. It is a practice where people count their blessings, put down affirmations, and intentions every day. One can also write it in notes and stick it on a fridge or visible area at home or at work-space or study area so that glancing at it now and then brings a positive vibe.

Does consciously practicing gratitude in the form of journals and jars help?

Yes, it helps us to be optimistic and count our blessings such that we work towards our impending goals and working towards getting what we want, in-turn it is a positive realism. Through this process, we can learn how to be gentle and kind to ourselves. Our lives have become so mindlessly headlong that we fail to take a moment to rightly process our emotions and acknowledge our feelings.

Let us cautious and intentionally pause for a while and with all the mindfulness and write teeny-weeny things that we are thankful for in our lives.

When life is going well, we tend to forget to be grateful for all we have. It is only when we are hit by some sort of loss that we wake up to what we still have and the heart opens up in gratitude.

Remember, someone is praying for the things you have and that you take for granted. Be grateful, concentrate on what you have, do not complain, and fret. Instead, start working towards what you want with a positive outlook.

About the Author:

Sowjanya M is a software tester by profession and lives in Bengaluru. She is passionate about writing and her penchant for writing has helped voice her opinions by writing blogs on various topics and views on her blog site.

5 Comments

  1. Truely inspiring!!! I feel I should make it a daily routine to make a list of things I’m grateful for after reading this article…

  2. Vanitha .A.Vishwanath

    Rightly said!
    How many of us will thank a riksha driver all the time we get down and a grocery shop man after buying things and most of all, how many times do we thank our parents for what they have done for us..
    This blog has made me realise that how important being thankful everyday is.
    Take a min and thank them❤️ thank the universe ?
    I am grateful for being read this blog?

    • Vanitha .A.Vishwanath

      Rightly said!
      How many of us will thank a riksha driver all the time we get down and a grocery shop man after buying things and most of all, how many times do we thank our parents for what they have done for us..
      This blog has made me realise that how important being thankful everyday is.
      Take a min and thank them. Thank the universe
      I am grateful for being read this blog