4 Effective Ways To Practice Gratitude During The COVID Pandemic

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How many of us introspect or decide to be grateful for the things we have received? How many things in our life do we take for granted?

I certainly am guilty of taking the good stuff in my life for granted and complaining about the things I lack. I have done it for the longest time, especially when I was unaware of the power of gratitude.

Gratitude is powerful. Much more powerful than we realize. It has the power to change your mood & uplift your mind. Gratitude has the power to heal.

Gratitude doesn’t mean that we become delusional or brush away our problems. Being grateful means being aware of negativity & still choosing positivity. Gratitude means being grateful despite our problems.

To keep ourselves positive during the current COVID pandemic, practicing gratitude is essential. Whenever we feel that we are slipping into an abyss of negativity, depression, anxiety or dissatisfaction, gratitude is our anchor.

Here are 4 effective ways to practice Gratitude:

1.Gratitude Journal

This is by far the most talked about method of counting your blessings or expressing gratitude. Maintaining a gratitude journal and writing about the things you are grateful for can be of a great help.

Sit comfortably in a quiet place or close to a window to get a view of the outside world. Light some candles or turn on your favorite music. Close your eyes for a few minutes and mentally run through everything in your life that you are thankful for.

It could be your family, friends, your pet or even material items like your cozy home, your car, the latest gadget in the kitchen, the places you have visited, the cuisines you have tasted, the books that you have enjoyed… it could be a seemingly trivial thing or a big milestone in your life.

Your gratitude journal doesn’t have to look like an article from a newspaper or like a book from the printing press. You do not have to bother about the grammar, nor run any spell checks . All you need to do is write and express your gratitude for every single item that has brought joy. The journal is for your eyes only.

You can scribble just a few lines or write multiple pages. You can journal every day or once every week. It doesn’t matter how many lines you write or how often you update your journal.

Gratitude journaling can also be modified as ‘bullet journaling.’ Write down your gratitude list as bullet points. 

2. Gratitude Pot/Jar

You don’t have to run to the store to buy a fancy jar to implement this. A simple mason jar from your kitchen will work! If you like being artistic, you can paint/decorate your jar.

Below is a picture of my gratitude jar that I made a while back. It’s a simple earthen pot that I painted using acrylic colors.

_{Gratitude pot painted by me}

The idea here is to make note of the items that you are grateful for. Take a small piece of paper and jot down what made you happy on that day. Fold the paper and drop it in the pot/ jar. Keep the jar/pot in a place where it will be visible to you. If you want, you can encourage your family members to add their gratitude notes as well.. Take a moment to think what you are grateful for on that day and write it down.

It is best to do this activity at the end of the day so that you have an overview of the entire day.

It could be as simple as- Today am grateful for

• The great coffee/food I had
• The new running shoes.
• The beautiful weather.
• The “me-time” after ages.

You can try this gratitude pot/jar activity for a period of 40/90 days or for an entire year. At the end of this period you can empty your pot and read all your notes. It feels great to re-live the happy moments & remember that you have so much to be grateful for.

3. Volunteer for a cause

I think any gratitude practice is incomplete without helping someone or volunteering for a cause. While donating to charity is also good enough, volunteering for a cause like opting to help the less fortunate in your own way (other than donating money) is the best way to practice gratitude.

I have personally experienced this when I taught Dance Movement Therapy for free to senior citizens at an NGO in Singapore over a period of 6 months.

The feeling of giving back to society is amazing & unmatched. When we help those who are in need, we have a realization of all the wonderful things we have. The unfortunate help us realize how fortunate we are. Volunteering also helps us become more empathetic to other people’s troubles & needs.

During this trying time, if possible, you can volunteer to help the poor & sick people; and/or the migrant labourers in your city/country by giving them food/groceries or helping them in other ways.

The possibilites of helping others during this time are endless & the happiness you get from helping others & the gratitude you feel when you realize how much you already have, is incomparable.

4. Gratitude meditation

Gratitude Meditation is a form of mediation where we focus on gratitude for what we are thankful for. There are numerous guided gratitude meditation videos available on YouTube. If you are beginner in meditation, I suggest short (10 min or less) videos.

Gratitude meditation is an extremely powerful tool, combining the benefits of meditation & the feeling of contentment you get when you are grateful.

It is definitely a great mood booster! 🙂

……………………………………………………………………

I hope you liked these 4 methods of practicing gratitude. When we intentionally practice gratitude, it is extremely powerful.

I know it is tough to practice gratitude especially when you are having a bad day or when we are faced with diffcult times like these. That is precisely the reason to practice it even more.

When we intentionally practice gratitude during a bad day/time, we become naturally more hopeful, happier & more resilient.

Practicing gratitude is like lighting a candle in a dark room. It will keep you warm, fuzzy & happy.

Do you practice gratitude? Have you used any of the methods listed here? I would love hear more about your gratitude practices. Please share it with me in the comments section below! 🙂

Pain

A feeling,

an emotion,

a sensation,

four letters

One Word

Pain..

Whenever there is sorrow

sometimes loss of hope for tomorrow,

whenever we feel desolate,

whever we are low

and sometimes much more than we show

we feel it..

Pain..Whenever life doesn’t go our way

When it seems to go haywire

and we don’t get what we desire

at that time,

it drowns us

Pain..

At times things slip out of our hand

like fine beach sand,

at times certain storms,

seem hard to go away,

the going gets rough

and the times seem tough

and it hits us very hard

the Pain..
It is not just a feeling or a sensation

It isn’t just a mere emotion

We all experience it,

But if we learn to deal with it

it is our biggest motivation

Pain

The biggest teacher

the reason for many to succeed

the reason for many to become stronger

the reason for many to become wiser

the reason for many to become aware

the reason for all of us to grow

is Pain

It teaches,

It transforms,

It makes us

better versions of ourselves..

PAIN

My favourite quote: “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is Optional.”

Copyright- Manasi Joshi

A Moment Of Freedom

http://www.manasiwrites.com 

Prema’s Journey…

Hey everybody! Today we have a very special person with us.

Meet Prema Malhotra.  Prema lives in the United States of America along with her family. She has two brothers.

She is just like everyone of us. A slight difference is- Prema was adopted when she was a child.

Prema has willingly agreed to open up to us & share bits of her life.

prema malhotra

Let me tell you, after Prema came to know that she was adopted, her thirst to search for her original parents started. She travelled from USA to India, in search of her roots. She came to know that she was relinquished by her birth mother two days after her birth.

The reason was that her natural mother was abandoned and left alone by her natural father.

Later on she was adopted by her current father & mother. 

Prema then started to feel that she really should meet her birth mother.

The struggle Prema went through to search for her birth mother is something one cannot explain. Did she then, meet her natural mother???

She has done extensive research, travelled, met people & prepared an entire study and written down the details of her journey in the Autoethnographic journey of Intercountry Adoption. Here is the link- http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR18/malhotra63.pdf

You can go through it and find out for yourself whether Prema met her birth mother or not…!

Prema was kind enough to answer the following questions:

Me: Tell us something about yourself. What do you do?

Prema: Currently I reside in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois USA. i reside with my (adoptive) parents. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Justice Studies (formally known as criminal justice) with a minor in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. I am currently back to school to earn a certificate in Paralegal Studies. I also currently work with my dad in his accounting firm as an Executive Assistant.

Me: What are your future plans?

Prema: I would want to go into the legal field and work for a law office as a paralegal and I would also like to go back to India at some point for a period of time and do some volunteer work with children. 

Me: Of all the struggle you have gone through tell me any one very tough moment for you

Prema: I think one of my tough moments for me was when I started my birth search. This was incredibly tough because searching brought so many anxieties, fears, and was a very tough moment for me. However, having gone through the birth search process, it has helped me to become a stronger and more understanding person. One of the difficulties was trying to understand the Indian culture having been raised in USA and coming to terms with why I was relinquished. Thankfully through the support I had during the time, I have come to terms with why I was relinquished. Looking at the birth search process, the whole search process had a positive affect on me, because I had to go through all the feelings I went through in order to come to a point of understanding, forgiving, and living my life with deeper understanding and gratitude. 

prema malhotra

Me: Tell me any good or nice memory related to your parents.

Prema: I have so many nice memories with my (adoptive) parents. My good memory with my (adoptive) mom was when she went to India with me during my Root/Birth Search visit in December 2011. It was nice to be able to travel with her and go out shopping and enjoy my birth country. My good memory with my (adoptive) dad has been always celebrating our birthdays together as our birthdays are very close to each other. The best memory together with both of  them is when they saw me graduate with my undergraduate degree. They have seen me go through ups and downs even educationally with studying late hours in the night and always trying to do my best. For them to see me graduate was such a positive memory and to see their smiles and joy was something words cannot even begin to describe. I love both my parents very much and they have always supported me in my life journey. 

prema malhotra

Me: Any memorable monsoon incident related to India? (Since it is monsoon here, right now)

Prema: Though I have limited memories of monsoons in India, I remember when I traveled to India in 2006 with a group of adoptees and adoptive parents, I remember we were on the bus driving through India during the monsoon season. It was so much fun to be able to experience the monsoon rains as I never experienced this before. It was so awesome to see children play in the rain. 

One thing you love about India and one thing you don’t?

Prema: I absolutely love Indian food! My favorite vegetarian dish is Channa Bhatura and my favorite non vegetarian dish is Chicken Mukani. I don’t think there is anything that I dislike about India.

 I know India will always be my home, a place of where I was born, and a country that is deep in my heart.

MANASI JOSHI (ME)

*MY NOTE

I think it takes an enormous amount of courage to reveal what Prema has shared with us today. Prema’s courage and also her strength of character and coming to terms with reality is reflected in the way she calmly answered my questions. It shows that the struggle she went through only strengthened her from within.

Prema is an inspiration in her own way. Her parents too have done a great deal and their adopting Prema has made a huge difference to their and her life.

There are so many homeless children out there. Adopting a child can make some child’s future better. 

I am really thankful to Prema who became a part of this post and shared her journey with us. Being adopted is not something that you need to hide. It is  a matter or pride for both- the Parents and the Child. That’s the message Prema & her family give us.

Hats off to her & her parents.

Finding our way.

                                                             PART 1
When I decided to pursue physiotherapy as a profession, I had absolutely no idea of what lay ahead of me.
In the first year, I joined Vishwakarma Institute of Health Sciences and Research (VIHSR) which was a newly opened college branch by the well known VIT group of people.
Meeting new people, new teachers was a great feeling. We all soon got acquainted with each other.
The memorable time there was the anatomy laboratory dissections, where we saw and dissected the dead bodies and their parts with hesitancy at first and later with ease and fun. I still remember our lectures and practical sessions over there and were introduced to the medical field and just began to understand what ‘physiotherapy’ really was and saw a glimpse of the hospitals. It was just a beginning to a four and half year journey.
Then bad luck struck us. Our college decided to shut down, ( Reasons are too many to type here) We and our parents too, panicked! What to do, how to pursue further years in physiotherapy? which college? all these questions arose in our minds.By that time our first year results were out and we all had got exceptionally good marks. Our then Principal, made arrangements in M A Rangoonwalla college of physiotherapy for us to continue or study there for some days till we got official admission in a college. Same was the fate of our seniors.
Then within a month or so we all secured admissions as per university rules and were distributed in various physiotherapy colleges across Pune and outside too, according to our preference. A special mention to my friend Prachi who helped me get admission in her college- Deccan Education Society’s Brijlal Jindal College Of Physiotherapy (DESBJCOP) in the Fergusson College Campus. I thought  ‘FC’ wow!

Puja, Anupama, Sayali, Anood, Upasana, Akshaya, Sumit, Nirankush, Sharvari, hope you guys remember those days!
                                                      PART 2


I entered D.E.S college with a twinge of nervousness. New teachers, new classmates new atmosphere. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to adjust. Prachi was of great help in making me at ease over there and introducing me to others. Still, I used to miss my old college and friends. However, gradually this didn’t turn out to be a problem. Why? because there were bigger problems looming ahead! Academics and hospital postings of course! 
We used to rush about, attending 8 o’clock lectures in the morning, clinical postings in the hospital from 10 am to 1 pm and then again afternoon lectures (when we used to be too tired to listen to anything anyway) or sometimes practical sessions in the afternoon. Second and third year passed in a jiffy though third year was the toughest where we had upto 12 subjects to study. Time passed by. We were busy treating patients, learning new methods of treatment, new subjects. There were times when I turned up to college looking like a pale white ghost who hasn’t slept for ages. hahaha! I think we all had times like that.
Then we landed up in our final year. The feeling of being “the final year batch” took some time to sink in.
Today, we attended our final class of college. No more lectures hence forth. A sigh of relief!
Yes there definitely have been times, when me and my buddies have cribbed and complained that ‘yaar kitna load hai, how much more can we do?’ also there have been times when we all have said, ‘When do they give us time to breathe, let alone study?’ If I begin grumbling, the list would probably go on and on.. but hey wait a second! 


Why am I here then? why am I writing this? simply because I have loved those moments of joy which I have shared with you all. Those moments of laughter we all shared in between lectures, those times when we all have stood up united as a class, those moments when we shared our problems with each other, times when we got a ticking off together for something we shouldn’t have done, from eating in the hospital canteen to drinking chai at the tapri to the dances we performed on stage through the years!
 Those times when we understood what the other meant to say just by looking at that person. Those seminars and conferences we attended, those Sundays we all sacrificed for the seminars that fun we all had when we went out for lunch or dinner as a class and of course, how can I forget Goa!!! such memories, I will cherish them forever. 

Final Year Dance Performance

Haha! look at us! lol

                                                          
PART 3

Yes there will always be our respective ‘groups’ or always be people who are more close to us than the rest of the class. But somewhere, we all have gone through good, bad, tough, easy, painful and not so painful days. Going through all of that has bonded us somewhere and made us grow as individuals and also together as a class.
Yes I know that 6 months of internship await us. But being a ‘student’ and an ‘intern’ are two different things.
We are bidding adieu to our student days today. Our journey is nearing an end and we are close to reaching a destination.
But isn’t the journey much more precious than the destination itself? Everyone whom we met through the years taught us something.
Well none of us are perfect. But the imperfect things we did, make perfect memories.
The joy of nearing the destination can never be complete without a wonderful journey.


Before I start thanking anyone else, I would like to thank all those patients whom I have treated. Especially those who made it a point to tell me that I treat them very well. Without our patients, what would we be? 


I feel grateful to God that I am in a field where I have the ability to make someone’s life better and change it for the good!


A huge thanks to my classmates but first I must thank 3 special people. Isha, Prachi and Snehal, you have been tremendously awesome friends who have stood by me through thick and thin.
A special thanks to:
Humaira, Tasneem, Sayalee, Krutika, Mukta, Apoorva, Shruti, Aishwarya, Siddhi, Swara, Ashwini, Urmi, Nikita, Zahara, Janaki, Pallavi, Trimbak, Namrata, Aboli, Kedar, Chinmay, Mukul, Devaki, Vandita.


If I have missed mentioning anyone please tell! 
This post is dedicated to our class. 3 cheers for us!!!!!!


I write this post with mixed emotions. Its been a tough ride upto where I have reached today. Yet somewhere the memories touch my heart and make me happy.


Have we found our way yet? Have we found what we will do, where will we go as yet? No
Only time will tell.
All I can say is that there is a content smile on my face as I end this post. 🙂

Our class!