It feels incredible to start this like many other things I have conceived before, but this is a mission that I want to complete in 2021. The person that fits my mission’s goal is the Iron Lady in my family. My Octogenarian Grandmother Willow’s quotes about various life things has finally started to make some sense to me.

My old lady taught me why it is necessary to finish anything you start. She also goes on about how life is short to live with regrets! Most of the time, it is all shared in a joke or two. She talks about small everyday victories that make us humble yet accomplished.

Both my grandmothers are strong women in their ways. When I think about them, I feel a sense of pride. The warmth of their strength and confidence makes me feel energetic and makes me think about the purpose of my life. Today, it is about the 70+, 80+ guys.

My Grandmother Willow

My maternal grandmother, the great grandmother to my little one, Mrs. Sarojini Murugesan, is fondly called by many as Sarojini Sairam. She is the only precious person from that generation of my grandparents who is still kicking it strong. There is not a day she does not go about cracking jokes. 

At 80, my grandmother willow had this free will to travel wherever she wanted with no company. She taught me to make thy self as a favourite companion and place complete trust in God.

My Ammama, as I fondly call her, doesn’t like me talking without brushing my teeth. If there is one thing she hates about me, it is my ability to procrastinate just about anything. She often shares a piece of her mind on how productive I can be when I take my eyes off my phone. She has great respect for time and watches the clock like it talks something to her.

Some of the people from her gang of grannies are the best, and they are the best example for “women help women.” Their planning and execution are flawless and flexible. They are always on the go, and above all, they laugh about a lot of things.

My Ammama, the housewife that she was, lives with my grandfather’s pension. When it comes to finances, she is an excellent planner who plans out her entire month on her pension day. To me, it is moderate cash. Still, there was never a day she complained about having less money. She has always felt thankful for being able to receive it.

Honest Healing comes from Acceptance

According to my grandmother willow, honest healing comes from acceptance of all good and bad. While I struggle a lot to make peace with a lot of things, she says to live life with no regrets!

As a family, we had gone through pretty tough moments, but Ammama has always offered her honest responses to the good and the bad. While she has been open in highlighting my pain points and my mistakes, she has never made me feel guilty about past mistakes. According to her one can always do more good to heal.

My grandmother is always ready to do any work. She loves to sew, and she has personally sewn many lovely dresses for my daughter without having any of her measurements. Some were funny, but most were perfect. The kitchen is yet another area where she rocks it well. Again, she checks the ingredients and plans the dish in minutes. There is not a slight doubt about what she can and cannot do.

At almost 85, she hurt her hip after a fall and had to undergo surgery during this pandemic. She felt dejected since my sister’s marriage was less than a month away. When she cried on the phone, I lost it all. At that moment, I did not know what to pray also.

Should I send a selfish prayer to give her back to me or say a painful prayer to take her away because she could not bear the pain? I couldn’t do both; I just cried to God to offer us help and do good for her. Now after 7 months, she is on her way to recovery with immense support from family. Her willpower was great, but she complained about how everyone was straining a lot to help her.

She always says she has an infinite love in her soul only towards Sairam and her great-grandchild. Of course, only God and a child can offer unconditional love and kindness. Ammama is very forgiving. Even though she has her angry bouts and curses us at times, I understand it is because of her dependence only.

At times, we youngsters do not have ears for the old. Yes, I have told my Ammama many times that she is boring and talking the same thing repeatedly. There are also times where I was busy reading a book or chatting over WhatsApp when this old lady came and sat at our house.

Now, I realized that though she couldn’t hear much of what I talk with her over the phone, she is happy when I call. That’s the only feeling I want to remember about my grandmother!

I am Thankful, Grateful, and Blessed to have this woman in my life.

ProjectTGB helps me thank the people whose impact I have understood in my life after so many years.

If you’d like to join me in thanking your community, use the #ProjectTGB and thank your people!

The post Grandmother Willow quotes on Gratitude appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

I have always felt renewed and rejuvenated when I thank someone. Similarly, when I recieve a note of thank you from someone, I feel happy that I was able to help someone. It would have been something really small, but then the feeling of gratitude brings richness to our lives like nothing else.

If there are two people who shine in front of my eyes for mindful living, it is Vidya Sury and Vasantha Vivek. Their blogs have shared so much about expressing gratitude for everything in our lives. Personally, I have found so much peace in reading their posts over years!

Express Gratitude as Often as You Can

Most of the times, we feel awkward to express our gratitude to our loved ones. It could feel weird, like it is the last time we’re going to talk to them or something. We always save it for the last time, but it never happens that way. We save regrets than memories, most of the time. I want good things for the people in my life and with all my heart. So, I have decided that I have nothing to lose by expressing my gratitude for them.

When I decided to write gratitude posts every month with Vidya’s Gratitude Cirle in 2018, it helped me see my life from a better perspective. As I read them now, it helps me feel a whole lot better. Expressing gratitude has always made me a better person and a lot less judgemental. It helps me accept that everyone is going through some struggle. Still, when they make some time to check on me, I feel blessed!

I am not a complete self-made person. I am that ball of wool, that could be crocheted into a colorful sweater, table cloth or a place mat. You can see that I am influenced by the good and the bad around me. Still, I know I am a constant work-in-progress to become the best I can ever be.

If I am what I am today, it is a major influence of the people around me. It is because of the time I spend with the people in my life. I think about how lucky I am to have them in my life. At times, when I share about them during a conversation, it brings a smile. Also, conversing with them about many life things has given me a better insight about so many things in my life.

Project TGB – Thankful Grateful Blessed

I have been trying to write gratitude notes for the last two years, but I couldn’t. Neither did I make time to thank anyone in my life. Since I felt lost, I felt I never had anything to share at all. I felt lost and hopeless for many days in my life.

The last three years have been really tough for me. I have felt miserable, made a lot of difficult decisions, above all complained so much like never before in my whole 30 years. These people in my life listened to so much of my whining, let out a cry when I was unable to handle the realities of life and also showed me ways to heal myself.

I could have succumbed and lost hope if not for each one of them through various stages of moving forward with my life. I am usually not one to depend too much on people, but these three years have shown me that I could be a pain in the ‘you know where’!

So, I started this small project, #ProjectTGB to share a part of me that has always wanted to hug them and say thank you, but never did that. I take this opportunity to send them gratitude, to thank them for being in my life for so long. It is also to show them how grateful I feel to have each one of them in my life. I have had some of the spiciest arguments and meltdowns with some of them. In a way, I am thanking the Universe for making me understand how blessed I feel even after all that!

This pandemic has given me a good opportunity to thank some of the people in my life for being my people! I will tag this with the name #ProjectTGB for 2021 to thank the people in my life whose impact I have understood in my life after so many years.

If you’d like to join me in thanking your community, use the #ProjectTGB and thank your people!

The post How to Express Gratitude in 2021 – Project TGB appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.