Tag: gratitude

General, Mindfulness l

Hail Teachers

growingupmatters

Hail this community more than ever before! Is never easy to have a smiling face and a cheerful disposition at all times and now with a screen to talk to all day and elicit a response without having to raise your voice is more than applauded. Some may beg to differ on this observation but that’s perfectly ok. In my opinion, the challenges faced are more than many and to come out of it when we see the other side of our current gloom with their heads intact will be quite a treat to all.


With the constant surround sound, one is but forced to know the teaching style, the tone and otherwise other guarded secrets, away from the pry of a breed called the “parents”. A mere, how was your day ? at the end of school hours was all one was used to and the rest was never known too much to form an opinion on anyone. Now, all their cards are wide open and the situation doesn’t give them any choice. As people , we would all like some parts of us to be only ours, even in our thought process and speech but with such levels of constancy in talking, these “only my” thoughts also begin to creep out in some ways. As long as it’s subtle , they’re good but kids somehow have an uncanny knack of digging and probing and sometimes bringing out the worst in adults. They do so with us parents, so am sure the teachers too face the brunt of their constant probing. It’s amazing to see their patience level when they have to repeat instructions/ concepts over and over again to bring the matter down to the least common denominator in the respective class. Patience on their part, as a virtue is so so visible now, albeit willy- nilly at times, am sure.


This is one community which has shown many what selfless support is all about. In this, judgement calls are still exercised by some which I feel are so uncalled for. It’s like a court battle is on and a slight blink can make the judge in parents come out loud and strong! If at all, a humane approach is all what needs to be shown for these tireless set of educators. The much needed golden words of appreciation are to be generously used now.
Let’s hope we lockdown  our individual biases when the children step out and meet and greet these noble souls with all the adulation and merit they deserve. It would be a win -win for all.

Mindfulness l, Parenting

Gratitude

growingupmatters

So humble a word this is.. of late, talks about this being incorporated as a subject in schools/ colleges is doing the rounds and rightfully so. With consumerism on the rise , it’s becoming imperative to teach the generation of tomorrow the value of it today. Not an easy thing to teach kids I would say though! The blurred vision they see this with is heart wrenching at times, but the effort on our part to show them the clear and obvious should always be on. May take time and a regularity of dose but that is how learning has been where values are concerned so why treat this any differently or rather, not pay too much heed to it?

With me starting on their name labelled jars with chits to be filled for things they are thankful for on an everyday basis yielded good bits of laugh at the end of last year ( let’s be honest, just like anything else, this didn’t fill up completely!)  but yes, it did pave the way towards sensitising them on the many taken for granted ideas. It’s easy to sense a feeling of being grateful when one encounters the unpleasantness of life one is not directly involved with and this is very quickly ratified by saying a silent little prayer or rattling out a small mental thank you ! This gratitude need not be felt only upon seeing and overcoming the negative experiences but needs to be taken further when one has possibly everything. Children of today , being born in privileged households don’t feel grateful about anything in particular. Everything is their birthright and so being grateful doesn’t come to them naturally. Now it’s also unfair to show them unpleasantness to inculcate a sense of gratitude! Schools are talking about making them write down daily things which made them happy, experiences which were enjoyed, emotions that were stirred all in the name of sensitising them to their surroundings and being grateful to the bounties they are enjoying. Let’s hope they get this wonderful value through these positive initiatives!

Recently on a holiday, my kids were super excited to drop coins when they saw people on the streets either singing or playing an instrument or the likes of the gold / silver man standing for hours on end on one leg. I could actually sense that they felt nice about helping these folks and maybe somewhere they felt grateful about leading a rather privileged life! Here, I got a chance to give them a dose of gratitude! Everyday simple things like a square meal, a friend coming over unexpectedly, great weather for the day, wonderful health, to be able to do everything one desires etc etc, the list can be endless are the stuff one needs to be grateful for and if these are listed down, better still for the feeling of gratitude to seep in ! Looking back at our penned down thoughts and reading them timely can only heighten this feeling . Each one has to do their part and the sum total would only make for more balanced and sensitive human beings. Kids growing up feeling this from a younger age would certainly be more compassionate in their adult life and is this not what everyone is striving for?

As for me , my list of feeling grateful is largely to be able to lead a balanced life , to feel fulfilled with the daily chores, to be blessed with good health, to be surrounded by a set of wonderful people from family to friends , to be able to take breaks and vacations…the list is endless but everyone and everything adds up to a worthwhile living experience!

General, Mindfulness l

FOCUS

growingupmatters

So now looks like we all have taken 2019 in our stride rather well..why, the number of feet pounding those mud tracks in the jogging arena of the parks around seem to say so! The beginnings of fitness schedules have kicked off in more ways than ever. It’s now left to see the sustenance levels of those happy or tired or focussed feet.

Whatever it is that one has consciously taken a stock of, evaluated and considered worthwhile to pursue can be done with dedicated focus. Unrealistic goals should be steered clear off the course and reasonable measured small jobs in areas where we wish to better ourselves have to be focused upon. Taking too much on one’s plate is a recipe for utmost frustration and near zero results. Even if the results from these many chosen endeavours does see the light of the day, the hidden stresses would prove to be detrimental later on.Wisdom only says to quantify and break the whole into doable and dealable parts and timely evaluation of the same. Regular sustained efforts should be the yardstick. The new year is but a fuzzy line separating the year gone by with the current one! In my view no change of the date/ calendar should hold us or propel us to take the steps we wish to towards our own greater good.

I , for one , have assessed over time and experience the areas where I need to focus and the results , as and when, would ONLY gratify me to the greatest possible extent  . Alongside, the wish is always there to see this affecting the people who matter in my existence in a positive manner. In the broader scope, these are the usual suspects all of us have to deal with in our lives- the physical, emotional, social , intellectual and spiritual issues. How well we try to change/ enhance/ acknowledge /improve our own shortcomings is the only measure. The gratitude in the end will be the completion of our own self chosen goals and how well we enmesh them in our everyday living. Here, work in progress can be rolled over to timelines which again, should be set by us and ONLY US ! Our living will make us slip in many areas owing to circumstantial pressing urgencies but as long as the will, determination and continuous reminder is with us, we are there.

Acceptance of our rough edges and smoothening the ones we wish to is something very personal to each of us and it’s  nice to keep it that way. Awareness and focussed approach should see us getting to where we wish to without the date and year fuzz.

General

50 and growing!

growingupmatters

The number 50 does feel a milestone of sorts on many occasions and hitting that number gives one a great high! I am no different here, so when I sit writing my 50 th post, it’s with a sense of a good bit of consistency on my part! My start was triggered by nothing more than penning down my thoughts and using this as a medium of communicating my feelings. It’s been nice to have my thoughts read by my WordPress family and of course all my well meaning friends and family. The comments have been honest and valuable.

With warmth and a deep sense of gratitude, I hope to continue on this journey! While writing my understanding on this very sensitive topic of raising responsible children, I myself have gained more know how thanks to the feedback received!

With my kids growing up fast, my blog will also take a different growth trajectory!

I treat 50 as young and hope to add more by way of content and engaging thoughts!

Cheers to all!