2014 Gratitude Series #2

Today I would like to thank Death.
Yes, death!


I lost someone dear a few days back and I realised yet again that life is short, uncertain and fleeting. What we have is the now. If we postpone something we want to do, we may not get a chance to do that something ever. I postponed meeting that lady, and when I wanted to do so, she was gone. Forever. Yes, I'll meet her in spirit. Yes, she's still around. But this life, as we know it, is a physical existence and the exact same sensations will not come again.

I'm grateful to Death for the following reasons:

1. Death reminds me that life is short and I must do the things I want to do immediately, rather than fill it with unimportant/inconsequential stuff. So it brings life itself into focus.
2. Death reminds me that I only have the now and I better choose well...
3. Death reminds me that I was born to die. And the interval is what I have and I must use it well
4. Death is a reminder that whoever we are, we all must die. He's the great leveller. We are all equal and one need not bow their head down to another since we are all mortal
5. Death reminds me that change is inevitable and welcome. What we know today will be gone tomorrow. And a new dawn will be born to die again. 
6. Death is the shadow that rides on my shoulder to give me the impetus to get up in the morning and live today fully - squeeze out every drop of the day because tomorrow, today will be dead.

Death is my friend and I'm grateful for his presence. He cleans up the world and gives us a new slate everyday to write out our destiny.

Go live today so you can die proudly when the time comes knowing fully well that you squeezed out every drop of every day to the fullest and never regretted any moment of your life. 

 Live well my eternal friend.

2014 Gratitude Series #1

I'm starting my gratitude series for this year from today, my usual end of the year series. So here goes #1

Yesterday morning while driving to office, it was raining and the road was wet and slippery. Since it was  before 8 am, traffic was light and I was going at a fair clip.
A mini bus, one of the many transport vehicles on OMR which ferries passengers in this stretch scuttled into my lane. I was in the 1st lane, adjoining the pavement and was going in a relaxed manner and was peeved at this guy cutting in. But since he was going at a good pace and seemed to be accelerating, I didn't slow down and was just going to pick up some more pace so I could follow in his wake.
But suddenly this guy just braked and stopped, just when I was accelerating hoping to keep up with him. In a split second I had to slam my brakes and veer the steering to avoid climbing onto his back side.
It got my heart pumping and adrenalin flowing into my veins and probably shaved a few years off my life too. The acid rose in my threat and my head was flooding with choice epithets to throw his way, but I took a deep breath and stopped myself. Instead of four letter words, I chose to thank him for saving me from disaster and giving me time to avoid him. I thanked God for giving me the time to react well and change speed and direction to avoid the crash. I thanked my car for responding well and avoiding the mishap. And then I thanked the driver, again and again.
The acid taste dissappeared. The pulse came down to normal. My heart stopped pounding and my whole body and mind settled down again to its normal state of peace and calm.
My son who was next to me was immune to all this. He was swotting for his exam, we were on the way to his model exams (12th Std) and his equilibrium was not disturbed because his father had not flown into a rage.
In a few minutes I became normal again and went on my way without this incident marring the rest of my day.
I'm grateful to God for giving me the ability to choose my mood. I thank the driver for showing me that I was still human and was capable of anger inspite of all the inner tinkering that I'm doing and more importantly, thank him for giving me the crucial few split seconds needed to turn the car away from disaster. I'm grateful for my car, the ever reliable Toyota Corolla for backing me up and responding.
Thank you Lord for yesterday and today and all the good things you're bringing me tomorrow.
Feel grateful for every little thing in your life. It could save your life.
Thank you for reading this. Have a lovely day / night :)