The dengue outbreak in 2013 had engulfed the country with a wave of fear. After seven years of living in North India, Gurgaon had become a second home for me and my family. Dengue cases increased every day and it only worsened with the advent of rains. The outbreak had redefined everyone’s dressing. If applying mosquito repellent wasn’t enough kids were marked with colorful and fancy shape patches. A mother is always on the guard for her children and extra-guarded when the child is naughty 13 years old. Applying mosquito repellent to my little kid every morning, evening and before stepping out of home had become a regime. As much as my daughter was irritated with this guarding, I was rest assured. As though I was sending her on a war front well-loaded with arms and ammunition!
As mothers we believe that nothing can touch us. And this is true. In crisis even though we are in the weakest of health physically, mentally or emotionally we become warriors with our strong foot forward to protect our family. We take ourselves for granted and neglect our well-being.
And that is what I did! Living each day to the fullest, adorning multiple hats of duties and responsibilities amidst all the action I came in contact with type-2 dengue mosquito. Several days I lay trembling in high fever, acute stomach pain and loose motions before the diagnostics report arrived for the doctor to start the line of treatment. Always active and on the move from 5am suddenly, I was immobile. Not just for a few days but several weeks. When one is used to nurturing and nursing others it is difficult to fathom own illness and dependency on others. And yet I lay on the bed nursed and nurtured by my husband along with my father in law who flew down to Delhi just to be by my side and take care of me. In the coming days my condition worsened and I was shifted to the hospital.
The virus gripped my body and numbed my mind. But it could not transcend the walls my of mental strength and conscience. I lay in calm faith and surrender. Gradually with everyone’s love and prayers my health revived. I can never cease being grateful to my family, father in law, friends, house help, doctors, nurse and staff at the hospital who unconditionally loved and nurtured me through my illness and recovery.
During my illness I realized that we take life for granted. Instead of being grateful for all of life’s blessings, we become victim of our own narrow mentality and complain. We blame people for everything wrong in our life. Instead of counting our blessings and being grateful we count the problems. Everything and everyone is looked from a skewed and critical vision. We take people for granted. In arrogance many people make caustic statements not realizing the adverse impact this attitude can have on their own well-being. Rather than being grateful time is wasted making trivial issues larger than life.
Blessed souls take birth as humans and wise ones make life worth living by being grateful for every small experience. Practice gratitude for the morning sun and glowing moonlight and stars at night. Express gratitude for changing seasons to blooming flowers. For every meal cooked, morsel consumed and service received say, Thank you. Be grateful for the gift of health and being alive when you wake up each morning instead of running the day in your mind’s eye immediately. Be grateful for challenging situations and critical people who actually help you become a finer human being.
Gratitude fills our life with positivity, happiness and abundance of everything that we desire.
Suggested book : The Magic by Rhonda Bryne (28 days to Gratitude)