It’s been a whirlwind couple of months, and the year has started on a bit of an unravelling note as  all of you who follow my blog will know. But then what about those countless blessings that pepper my life with the confetti of joy? How could I forget those and not list them out.

Life is mostly good, if we choose to not be deterred by the passing clouds. Share on X

It was bleak, gloomy and foggy; all of last week. A weather which I’m not too fond of, and if I’m down in the dumps, the weather adds to the gloom quotient. But on the brighter side, the sun did make its benign presence felt on the Indian Republic Day, after a foggy, frigid morning.

So here are a few blessings that came crawling into my space, over the long weekend starting 26th January, 2018 that warmed the cockles of my heart. Things, people, food, places, books I’m so indebted to.

• I took Laila, my furry paws and the nine-year old to the park downstairs, and we toasted ourselves in the glorious afternoon sun, while I read a book. Laila created a bit of a racket by barking at every other dog. But she and the nine-year old also had a great time running around and even climbing a tree (no, not Ms. Furry Paws!). My help also brought us a flask of reinvigorating masala chai and chivda  which I relished to bits.
• Since our help had a long weekend off, I whipped up a Republic day supper of Tom Yum soup, and Honey Glazed Sesame Chicken that turned out to be finger licking delicious. So said the family and I can vouch for it too. A good meal on the table is so much to be grateful for.
• Next morning I pushed myself out of the cosy quilt, not letting the fog, dissuade me. Thereafter I thoroughly enjoyed the 21 k Saturday morning cycle ride with an old cycling buddy. It was great to catch up with him and it turned out, it was his birthday too.
• The nineteen-year old had a dentist appointment the same day. We made it lot more fun, by discovering this little Asian cafe,  The Bowl Factory. This is at Gurugram’s oldest open market, Galleria. (Pssst! I don’t like malls and prefer the good old market places). We dug into our favourite fare of Dimsums, Laksa, Kho Suey, Udon Noodles, Glass Noodles Salad, and the nine-year old was thrilled to get her favourite Honey Chilli potatoes. The food was quite good and light on the pocket. Oh yes! I also managed to grab my favourite Kullhad chai at Chayoos, my favourite Tea cafe, pre-lunch.

 

• Once we were done with lunch we headed straight to Bharisons which happens to be the oldest bookstore in Delhi and now has a brand new, sprawling outlet at Galleria. With the death of so many bookstores, courtesy E-books, Amazons and Flipkarts, Bharisons was such a welcome sight for my family of bibliophiles. I fell totally head over heels in love with the place, and picked up two beautiful books that I have meant to read for a while: Gaachar Gochar and A Man Called Oven. And guess what the nine-year old also found this exquisite looking Paulo Coelho Freedom planner at the payment counter. I promptly bought it for myself, after ll I’m such a stationary buff! I hope I use it, as I already have a few lying at home. The Bharisons book store also houses my favourite Blue Tokai coffee café. Cherry on the tempting cake!

 

 

 

• Yesterday that is Sunday we had our Buddhism monthly discussion victory meeting. That too at my place. It was a very fulfilling one, and so many people shared such outstanding stories of their victories through faith and the power of prayer and determination. A member spoke about how she had off late been cribbing about so many things in her life, including the cold weather, only to realise she had at least a place to call home and beautiful,  warm winter clothes that made the weather so much more bearable. That thought really stayed with me, as I’d spent a major part of the week cribbing about the weather and emphasising that I was a “Tropical Girl.” My friends found it funny, to some extent. I do too, but it’s true. I have a very tropical soul and that’s another story.

• We went to watch Padmavat(i) the grand saga, and it left me wondering what all the ado and fuss was all about. The movie has a brilliant storyline, told beautifully. Though I wish the cinematography had more clearer visuals, or was there a problem with our theatre screen? The visuals were pretty dull. I also felt the movie could have been of a shorter duration. Albeit this is a story I want to read and get to know more about. I’m very intrigued by Alauddin Khilji’s character and Padmavati’s intuition and courage. It was a lovely Sunday evening spent bonding with the family.

So much to be grateful for, in just three days. I sometimes wonder if I was not so lazy and wrote a gratitude journal each night, I would have so many blessings to be thankful for each day.

Life is mostly good, if we choose to not be deterred by the passing clouds. There is so much more to be grateful for, than to worry about.

So come lets rejoice those blessings and soak our souls in deep gratitude. 

 

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Linking up with Vidya Sury’s Gratitude Circle, Corinne’s #MondayMusings and Mackenzie’s #mg