Category: Experiences

Of all things I’m most thankful for I’d single out the friends that I acquired after 2014. The year when the Crimea reunited with Russia, a massacre in Odessa happened and a Malaysian Boeing’s catastrophe orchestrated.

I came to realise then that a few people I thought were my friends turned out to be quite alien. And I’d cope with that had it not been for their hell-bent determination to put me straight. As far as they were concerned, I was a victim of the state propaganda. In my turn, I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that we used to read the same historical texts and learn the same dates, and all graduated “cum laude”, yet for some inexplicable reason the opinion of the so-called global community mattered more to them than the actual facts.

In the end I decided I wanted more like-minded people in my life, and in the years that followed I found a lot of them, indeed.

Many of us avoid changes for fear of losing what we’ve got. To think about it, this is how a deficiency thinking is formed: we convince ourselves that unless we keep to what we have now there will be no more in future. And so we choose to persist in misery lest we experience happiness. What do you choose?

I’m moderating my first mastermind, and this is a new thing for me. I can see where I’m falling back on my previous managerial experience, and what aspects of it need improving. In general, though, this is quite inspiring – to lead a group of females who wish to reach their personal and professional goals. So far we have all made good progress, and, with two more weeks left, there’s plenty to do. I’m grateful for this opportunity. In fact, it was my goal at the start of the year, and now I’ve accomplished it.

My gratitude note is short today. I’m grateful for the quiet inspiration that spurred me to make a good progress on my work.

We have come to think of inspiration as a bout of madness that engulfs you, leaves you sleepless, restless and void of all human desires. But there is a different kind of it, gently guiding you on the path of your story. I really enjoyed it today, and I’m looking forward for more.

Today I spent a fairly hectic day. I gave three classes, wrote some prose and posts, recorded a couple of extracts from Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World. I’ve had this book in my library for a while, having brought when I was yet in England, but it’s only now that I’m being a truly dedicated reader. I’ll do another post about it later.

Tiredness has worn on, and I’m planning to go to bed as soon as I finish the post. But before I put a full stop I want to thank the bountiful power for endowing me with creativity. This is a truly divine gift.

I was hoping to spend the long weekend relaxing. Instead I had to go shopping and do some things about the house; and tomorrow I’m teaching. Yet I’m grateful to be able to work and to share my expertise with those who need it. And I’ll relax by just looking at this photo, imagining myself in this setting.

Today was a fairly quiet day. I was hoping to have some extended sleep, and I did. I’m grateful for the moments of quietude and peace that I aim to catch every Sunday. Since my time in England I’ve always noticed this period of stillness on a Sunday afternoon. Between 2 and 4 p.m. the trade was gradually slowing down, and between 4 and 6 p.m. life would move to pubs and restaurants. People were bidding farewell to their weekend with a cup of cappuccino, a pint of Lager, or a glass of wine.

So I, too, try to spend these four hours of a Sunday afternoon noticing how life’s waters calm and go still, so you can actually sip the time by a minute. And I’m always grateful for it.

Today, my gratitude goes to Nature. Its wisdom is such that it always reminds us that all periods of our life are intrinsically interconnected. The seeds of maturity and old age are sown in our younger years. Likewise, the poplar fluff in May-June is a foreboding of winter blizzard. And a pumpkin that shines brightly amidst November dirt and gloom obviously epitomises the sun.

The sun is always here, there, and everywhere. We only need to learn to see it behind the clouds.

Today I’m grateful to my positive thinking. I’m trying to be an informed optimist, which entails a good understanding of life and people. My positive mood is generated by my awareness that we accumulate more of what we focus on. If I focus on bad things, I make them worse.

It doesn’t mean, on the other hand, that I should ignore bad things in my life. Yet I cannot merely erase them; I have to make out why they happen in the first place, so I can change and improve them.

Looking at today’s picture, I’m thinking about the times when things were rough. I would lock myself up in a cosy room of my own. Doing so always allowed me to distance from the events and to choose the best – positive – outcome. And I’m grateful to myself and the powers-that-be for guiding me through…

I’m starting another challenge here. I see that you liked Christmas Tree challenge I had in December last year. So now I’m going to take you for a pumpkin ride!

November starts with the Irish Samhain and the European All Hallows’ Eve and culminates in American Thanksgiving. In all festivals, a pumpkin occupies a central part as an epitome of harvest and the sun. And it is the sun that we need in many corners of our world in November. Hence I decided to bring it to you this month.

I also want to dedicate this month to a kind of Thanksgiving. I’m sure you’ve heard about a gratitude diary; but to practise writing it makes a huge difference in life. So, I’m going to give thanks to all things great and small in my life and in the life of humankind, on the whole. I don’t expect you to agree with all things I’m grateful for. However, I hope you will attempt to see things from my perspective and, who knows, maybe you’ll share my gratitude. And if you choose, please use comments to share what you are grateful for.

To start, today I’m thankful for my resourcefulness that helped me to pull through a rather difficult October. I took part in several important events, including a TV program and a professional conference. At the same time, I had to attend on my cats who were poorly. And I had very little rest, yet I was able to stay calm and organise things.