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A glass half full...

 In a completely random chat with my ma this morning, we were talking about someone who's known to be a cribber all her life. It reminded me of a turning point in my own journey of self-awareness - some 20 years ago. 

At that point of time, my personal life was in an upheaval of sorts, work was good but was feeling short-changed due to some office politics - basically I was generally in a negative state of mind. One summer night, I was driving back home after a tiring day at work in a morose mood. Feeling bad for myself, blaming God in general - essentially a tired soul more than the body. At a traffic light, I glanced around and saw an absolutely unexpected site. On the road-divider there was a family of 4 - a couple and 2 young kids (under 10 years of age) - chilling out post dinner. That was not the unexpected bit. 

The couple were laughing over something and talking to each other - looking happy to be together. The kids were playing with some stones and smiling away too. I was looking at them and realized I was feeling a deep sense of envy and jealousy. It caught me by total surprise and have to admit - shame. How could I be envious of those who have nothing - on face value? They should have been envying me and my life - with a solid roof on my head, obvious money as i'm driving a car etc. 

The fact that I remember this fleeting 10-20 second scene so vividly - after more than 20 years - is itself a testament of how deep an impact it had on me. One of the biggest turning points in my psyche as well. I learnt so many life lessons from that one moment. To be grateful for what we DO have will always beat the resentment of what we DONT have - only if we learn to enjoy the moment. Happiness comes with the people you're with and not with riches. You can CHOOSE to be happy in whatever situation your life is in. You don't need fancy toys and other things to be having fun. Just feeling safe in the company of people you're with is quite enough. 

A glass can always be half full... not half empty. As long as we choose to focus on that. 

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