Count Your Blessings

Take a deep breath; not all things in your life are bad

I’ve been lingering on the blank white screen in front of me for the past couple of hours.

Twice, I started writing something and then erased it.

This morning, I woke up with a lot of negative thoughts and energy. To begin with, I felt clueless and frustrated. I had no plans for the day, and staying at home has felt really boring since this past week.

When I got up to start my day, I hated every minute of it. It seems to be one of those ‘bad’ days — I don’t feel like doing anything. Mentally, I feel stuck. Emotionally, I feel tired. Naturally, I wanted to write about it because writing always makes me feel better.

I started off by writing the first headline: — How does it feel to be jobless?

I wrote 2 paragraphs, then erased them. I wrote one sentence and deleted it. I started to write again, for the third time, but this time, I was lost in thoughts. A lot of thoughts were going on inside my head — all of them making me contemplate my situation and feel bad for myself.

Ah, it was too much, so I put my laptop aside and stood up. I walked towards the window and looked outside.

The day is nice and bright. It is less windy today than it was yesterday. The main road in front of our apartment is bustling with traffic, and the partially golden-brown trees appear to be enjoying the faint sunrays falling upon them.

As I stood there, looking at things and people moving, I thought to myself —

Life is good and peaceful.

Instead of focusing on what I don’t have, why not focus on what I have?

All the confusion suddenly flew away. I stopped feeling so sorry and so helpless for myself. I walked back to my desk and pulled up the blank white screen again. This time, I decided I would write about my blessings and practice gratitude.

💚 I am grateful that I have a permanent home to live in, our home we purchased earlier this year.

💚 I am grateful that I could fly down to India two months ago and be there for my family when my father suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest and underwent heart bypass surgery. My sister and I were scared as hell, but that time with my family was emotionally so enriching. I realized how much I love my family. I am so-so blessed to have a loving and fully functional family.

💚 I am grateful to have a supportive partner who loves me unconditionally and is always forgiving. No matter what my mood is, he is always there, with me, telling me things will be better. He is the family I chose and I couldn’t have been more right.

💚 I am grateful that every day, I get the time and the space to write, to think and to decide my way of life. It is so important to have that space and not have anyone tell you what you should and shouldn’t do.

💚 I am grateful to have a bunch of friends who are like a family, who always look out for me, and who I know will stand by me when I need them.

💚 I am grateful to have mentors who truly believe in my abilities and who encourage me to give it my best shot professionally.

💚 I am grateful that I have the resources and the time to work on my health. I do yoga few days a week and go for an evening walk everyday. I monitor what I eat also, I always have plenty to eat.

I feel much better.

Sure, a job and a career are very important in life, but so is your health and family. I know that these are tough times and these shall pass, but life is not all that bad.

Practicing gratitude is a great way to feel good about yourself and your life. Instead of counting what you don’t have, we should count our blessings and make the day a little brighter, a little happier.