gratitude

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The form of gratitude... How do you do it... In what way... Well, I myself don’t quite know the answer to this question...
If you ask me, I will just say I am confused...

Now, coming to my perspectives, gratitude is never limited to a “thank you” or gifts.... Or silently expressing gratitude with a smile....

For me, my gratitude has been very much expressive, just like me.... I have never been the silent one... I was always the loud and vocal one... And, I am still so....

But, here's a point... This is not any ordinary gratitude... Nope, this gratitude is for those whom I can never thank enough... Not with gifts and all...

And, that's what that makes the difference here.. The people I am talking about here are those who accepted me, who loved me, who cared for me just the way I was... They just didn’t get scared of my broken, vulnerable face.. Something so despised that it became hard for people even to look at... I scared them... My ugly, broken face scared them...

And, I have heard it a million times probably... I wasn’t visually appealing enough to look at or talk to... I wasn’t useful enough for any benefits... I wasn’t enough to make anyone proud... I had nothing to give... That made me uglier.....

And, I am not lying... I felt so too.. I looked scary.. I didn’t use to sleep the entire night.... I would think about suicide... I also gave up on myself like everyone else did... I also convinced myself that I wasn’t worthy enough for anyone to love me... I hated myself...

And, then these angels came into my life... I refer to them as angels because I myself couldn’t really comprehend why they would even choose someone like me... This question kept lingering in my mind...

Even I also felt that if I were them, I would have never gotten closer to someone like me...

That’s why at first, I just couldn’t trust... Because my trust was already broken in such a horrifying way I would rather speak about.... For me, they would eventually leave like everyone else did.... Because I had already lost everything.... And,I had nothing to lose at that point....

But, they just didn’t... They didn’t let go of my hand.. They loved me... They wanted me to be happy... They loved me for me... They claimed that they loved me because it was me... They loved me because for them, I felt so dear to love... That I had such an affectionate face that it was almost impossible not to love it even when I had nothing to offer....

In my world, where I always believed love is give and take... But, they changed the entire concept... If you love, you do.... And, nothing matters.... Nothing.... They just raised the bar so high....

And, did I trust them... Well,back then,it took me time... But, if you ask me now, I would say loudly with clarity that I always believed in them... Yeah, they made me so secure to believe and being able to flaunt it so proudly....

They just did all the magics here ... Exactly that's why, the definition of love has become such a significant thing to talk about....

And, the gratitude, I eventually found myself crying... Not out of pain but out of the greatest form of gratitude I could ever offer....

The purest one.... Whenever I met them, I just couldn’t stop crying... I cried like I always did before.... But, this time with the heartiest form of my gratitude...... And, that's the thing.... #Depression #MentalHealth #Anxiety #CheckInWithMe #MightyTogether #CheerMeOn #Gratitude

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Keep Going Anyway

Not everyone will understand your season.

Some people will judge it.

But no one else can build your future for you.

Take responsibility for your life, trust your journey, and keep moving forward!!! 🌿

#CheckInWithMe #PersonalGrowth #Gratitude #selfreflection #growthmindset #keepgoing

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My best friend just told me how much she loves and supports me.. She has been always a special person in my life... And, she is super supportive.. I can't explain how amazing she is.. During my initial depressive days, I totally stopped talking to others and completely isolated myself.. I didn’t wanna talk to anyone and I was lonely.. I didn’t even wanna go to my College cause I hated everything... But,she always stayed by my side.. Even when I tried to avoid her, she just didn’t leave me alone.. She would be always there for me.. She has been my support system and she was the reason I used to go to college... I just love her.. When she told me that, I felt how loved and blessed I am.. I am just so grateful to have her in my life... She is the best ever ❤️... #Depression #MentalHealth #Anxiety #CheckInWithMe #MightyTogether #Gratitude

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An unexpected blessing #Depression #Anxiety #Gratitude #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends #MentalHealth

Rehab was hard work this morning. Which is great news. It’s a sign my body is recovering, in fact the readings of movement in my leg showed a lot of improvement in the past 2 weeks.

While exercising I overheard an elderly lady who was quite distressed that she couldn’t go to hydrotherapy at 10:30 instead of 11:15 as the class was full. She had another appointment today so needed the change.

I approached her and offered to swap sessions with her as I have no appointments until 3pm. She almost started crying. Such a simple thing to bless someone.

I used my available time to go to the hospital cafe for a much needed macchiato. The waitress brought me my coffee and said, “I have drawn you in the coffee”. I looked down at the coffee and she says, “That is you, Mr Smiley”.

What a unique and unexpected blessing. Today is panning out so well.

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I am: Deserving

I am deserving of all the good that life has to offer.

For decades, I didn’t believe it. I measured my worth by what I endured, by how much I gave, by how well I survived. I learned that goodness had to be earned through suffering. Pain became proof. I held it close, convinced that survival alone justified my place.

I remember mornings in the quiet house, tea gone cold, replaying every failure. I remember declining a dinner invitation because I hadn’t finished enough work that day, as though companionship had to be earned through productivity. My mind whispered that I was only entitled to struggle, that joy was reserved for those who hadn’t stumbled. For years, I listened.

But slowly, I began to notice moments that didn’t fit: a sunrise that caught me unaware, a friend’s laughter spilling across a room, a smile from someone who owed me nothing. These moments weren’t rewards. They were just good. They existed outside merit, beyond suffering.

I began to unlearn.

I noticed the ways I resisted joy, how I held back anticipating disappointment. I wasn’t practicing gratitude; I was preparing for debt, expecting any ease to be balanced with pain. But good things are not contingent, and joy does not require proof. Love is not a punishment waiting to be collected.

I do not need to prove myself to receive. I do not need to demonstrate resilience or perfection to earn a warm cup of coffee, a quiet afternoon, or a conversation that lingers into laughter. Being here, continuing, choosing to live with intention: this is enough.

There are still mornings when this belief feels fragile. I flinch at ease, waiting for loss to follow. But each time I linger in the warmth of kindness or the brilliance of a sunset, I practice receiving without guilt. I open my hands, not in expectation but in readiness, and I let life arrive as it will.

This is a quiet liberation: understanding that goodness is not a reward but part of the rhythm of living. It is as natural as breathing, as necessary as water, as rightful as the space I occupy. The world does not tally my struggles to calculate my share of happiness. Good things arrive, unbidden and unearned, when I allow them.

So I practice. I take joy in small things. I let moments linger. I smile at nothing. I answer kindness with acceptance rather than suspicion. I breathe in the world as it comes, understanding that life’s goodness is not conditional, and neither is my right to it.

This practice has become essential to my wellness. For years, I approached self-care as penance, something to fix what was broken rather than nurture what was whole. But recognizing that I deserve goodness shifts everything. When I begin my day affirming my worthiness, I stop treating rest as laziness and joy as indulgence. I allow myself nourishment without guilt, boundaries without apology, pleasure without justification.

It transforms how I move through the world, making space for what sustains me: the morning walk I take not to earn my breakfast but because my body deserves movement and light; the time I spend reading, creating, or simply sitting in stillness because my mind deserves peace; the relationships I cultivate because connection is a fundamental human need, not a reward for good behavior.

Wellness, I have learned, is not about perfection or punishment but about tending to myself with the same compassion I would offer a friend. It begins with this single, revolutionary belief: I am deserving of care, of kindness, of all the good that life has to offer.

#MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #Depression #BipolarDisorder #Recovery #Selfworth #Selflove #Healing #PersonalGrowth #Mindfulness #resilience #mentalhealthmatters #Endurance #Joy #Gratitude #wellness #LifeLessons #innerstrength #Survivor #EmotionalHealth

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Art my daughters made and gifted me for Christmas

1- if you’re familiar with Schitt’s Creek, this one is of Stevie, David & Patrick 🖤
2- portrait of my 3 daughters 🎄
3- my oldest’s current favorite character: Luffy from One Piece (he loves meat 🍖)

#Glimmers #Gratitude #artastherapy

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One thing that I really love when my therapist checks on me... I always forget to book my session but he would just ask me how I am doing... Amidst everything, this is what I really appreciate that someone is checking on me.. Asking me how I am doing... This is something I have been yearning to hear.. That someone's genuinely asking me.. For me,it’s just so rare... This simple one question just holds so much importance I can't explain... I am just really really grateful to have such an amazing therapist... He gets me like no one else... And, I am really thankful to him... Sometimes, I wonder how this one sentence just makes my day... I guess it’s a feeling of being cared... I just really appreciate it... #Depression #MentalHealth #Anxiety #Gratitude #CheckInWithMe

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I appreciate meeting my Mighty family. That adds to my well-being and helps me keep going in times of struggle.

#Depression #CPTSD #Gratitude

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Finding Joy in the Everyday

“I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude.” - Brene Brown

Gratitude can be a small reminder of the things that bring you happiness. Recognizing things you’re grateful for can cultivate joy and make you appreciate the little things.

#MentalHealth #Gratitude #mentalhealthmatters

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Thank God for beat up taxis #Gratitude #Anxiety #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends #Depression #Faith #MentalHealth

As my Wife and I continue our European holiday, this morning was quite stressful. When we travel my Wife and I discuss well in advance the itinerary but she leaves all the travel arrangements to me. We always book our own flights and accommodation rather than use a travel agent because we can be more specific about how we travel.

This morning we had to catch a local train for a 30 minute journey to a major train station so that we could get our train from the Czech Republic to Austria.

Ubers have been so good for the last 3 countries but this morning we couldn’t get one no matter what we tried. We had allowed some time buffers but it was getting dire. So in desperation I rang 3 taxi companies but no one spoke English. I then did, what I should have done earlier, I prayed.

Then, a taxi company I had ring contacted me through WhatsApp. They could send a taxi. The taxi was a beat up, old, dirty car. It was however a beautiful sight. We are at the train station and surprisingly the taxi cost the same as the Uber.

God cares about everything in our lives, even catching trains on time.

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