May your day be full of peace, love, happiness

Yesterday evening my son came home a little early from office. Usually he gets home at 9-9.30 pm. He told me he had finished all his work and come home early since he wanted to try out something on the computer. But to his bad luck something went into in his eye on the way home in the cab. Since he was having a pricking sensation, we immediately went to a nearby eye hospital. There the doctors sprayed some anesthetic and removed the foreign particle from his eye with a needle. He then prescribed some antibiotic eye drops for 5 days.

Asking my son to go home I went to my local chemist, who I have been patronizing the last 20 years, to buy the eye drops. It was a little crowded. Two middle aged auto drivers were buying medicines. One driver asked the price and refused one of the medicines saying he didn't have enough money for it. The gist of conversation was something like this:

Chemist: you can't stop this medicine. You take it and pay me tomorrow. Auto driver: no, no its ok what if I don't have money tomorrow also. Chemist: Take one strip. If you don't have money tomorrow, pay me whenever you have the money. If you stop the medicine you will have problems. The bill came up to to Rs. 350. He had only Rs. 200 with him, which he paid and took the medicines. My respect for the chemist grew yesterday.

I came home with my son's medicine. My son was feeling low because he could not sit on the computer and the plans he had made had failed. He was cribbing that god was being unfair to him. Was his destiny only to work hard and not enjoy at all etc. etc. I told him about the auto driver who could not afford Rs. 350 for his medicines. I told him he was lucky to at least have a job when there were so many who were jobless. Hopefully he understood what I was trying to convey. The small things that make me feel blessed are:

My family who love and care for me. Having a roof over my head. Having food to eat, whenever I am hungry, when there are many who can't even afford one meal a day. Being able to afford basic health care. Having all my faculties intact. Being able to see, hear, speak,walk and understand. Basically all the little things at home like fans, gas stove fridge, mixer, washing machine that make our life so much easier which many still can't afford. Whenever I feel low I play this song from my school days in my mind and I automatically start thanking God for all that he has given me.

“Count your blessings and name them one by one and it will surprise us what the lord has done”. I was crying because I had no shoes, when I saw a man who had no legs. Give him credit for every single good and pure thing in your life and constantly look for things to thank him for. Rely on God to help you once you've done your part and be quick to thank him when things inevitably work out. Pretty soon you'll realize how much you have to be grateful for and because you’ll be walking around with a full heart and a waiting attitude you'll feel happier and likely find more opportunities. In turn those new opportunities will be more praise and stronger fuel for your faith.

Become more observant. Notice everything that surrounds you. The world is full of examples, ideas, words, wisdom, mistakes and experiences. Pay attention to details and use them to your own benefit. Collect Ideas. Ideas and thoughts tend to evaporate from your mind too fast. Try to capture them before it is too late. Ideally, write down or sketch every single one. Start Writing. The biggest value of a good writing skill is that it cultivates a discipline. First of all, the discipline of thinking. Your thoughts will cease to be random and chaotic. They will gradually become systematized and structured instead.

Develop a habit to act. Constant thinking will not take you far from the place you are now. Actions will. Stop procrastinating and start acting. Define your goals and do the things that matters every single day. Read. Read a lot. Reading is probably the best investment of time ever. Devote at least 30 minutes per day to reading. Ideally, have a book always with you. Then you won`t waste any minute purposelessly. Analyze Your Day. Before going to bed, spend 10 minutes analyzing your day. Consider what things you managed to do well and what mistakes you made. This simple practice will help you transform your approach to daily routine. Expand your comfort zone. There is nothing new in your comfort zone. All the opportunities for growth are beyond it. Therefore, find your discomfort zone. Enter it! Cheers!