Serendipitous Gifts that I AM Grateful For

Sometimes, things happen to you in your life and, at the time, it looks like it's a misfortune or you view it as a tragedy and you get angry or vicious or bitter or you play the victim - or whatever the tune that you like to play at those times? You tend to play it loud!

I received a phone call from an old colleague today and, one thing led to another in our conversation, I heard my own voice saying to her "Being shafted was the greatest gift that XXX has given me because I am happier than I've been in months and months. I have landed my dream job, I'm being paid really well and ........ I'm respected for my skillset and being treated so exceptionally well - I am still quite shocked that this fabulous job is mine, really. I would never have gone down this path had she not shafted me like she did."

People say "things always happen for a reason" and time and again, it appears that, in my life, they DO!

I guess it all comes down to your perspective and the spin you put on the things that happen to you. You can play the fool, the martyr, the victim and - be honest - none of those characters serve you very well, do they? Not in the long run......

So, here I am - genuinely and eternally grateful for being shafted because, honestly? That incident put me back on the right track for me. It's like it provided me with the benchmark of what I don't want in my life and - more importantly - the kind of people I do not and will not allow back into my life either.

Now the disclaimer is that not everyone I encountered were as toxic as the one individual I refer about. The majority of them were/are decent, lovely, genuine people who have also been affected negatively by one person. One person. Can make such a difference to you, to your experience.

I hope that person reads this. It's nothing I wouldn't say to her face. I just wouldn't be all mean and vindictive about it.........but I'd be honest.

You are one person. Just one person. You can choose to make a positive impact on everyone around you or you can choose to contribute to people's lives in a negative way. Just know that each choice has it's own consequences. When you treat people badly with scant regard for anyone but yourself, it will come back to you with interest.

On the flip side, I have had 6 horrible months which I will not get back but, folks, it has propelled me into a much happier place. Each day, when I wake up, it's with a smile on my face. I am happy. I love my job. I like the people I work with because they are selfless and behave like decent human beings that are part of the community, part of the larger picture....

Good lessons have been learned and serendipitous gifts have been received with gratitude and relief.

Idyllic Childhood Memories

One of my favourite memories is triggered whenever I hear Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair".

Imagine this: A hot Indian summer, the sounds of crows cawing in the newness of early morning while I smelled that delicious aroma of fresh bread toasting (and eventually burning because my Grandma burnt toast - it's one of the call signs that I associate with her).

My parents were in Bahrain and I remained back in India with my Grandma. My family home, at that stage, was with her. Grandpa had passed away recently and it was, essentially, just her and me. She was a young and vibrant Grandma and we had a special, special bond. I know my Aunty Noreen and Uncle Denzil were around but my childhood recollections have them in fleeting moments.

The summer of this song and The Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Simon and Garfunkel take me back to an idyllic childhood, spent lazily in the fabulous company of my Grandma. Times were spent laughing, shopping, being together.

We had two dogs - daschunds by the name of Cheeky and Poppet - who were scared of me. I was somewhere around 8-9 years old and the peaceful harmonies of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel decorated the moments of retrieving mangoes out of the rice box, where they were kept, and eating them deliciously with juice running down to our elbows.

My Aunt's friends would come over and there was relaxed laughter in the air. There were colours of tie-dyed t-shirts and handle bar moustaches, cheesecloth tops and bell-bottoms paired with leather open sandals, long hair and the Mamas and Papas.



The doors of my Grandma's house were always open. I have no recollection of the realities of adult life because, as a child, it was a joyful and carefree childhood.The front yard was lined on the right side looking toward the road with a mango tree, a custard apple tree, a yellow guava tree and a pomegranate tree. On the left were other guava trees and a small rockery that housed a family of frogs who sang to us in the evenings with the crickets as people returned to their homes for dinner.


In other parts of the world, my new baby sister was being born and the Vietnam war was being fought in vain, but in my little cocoon of childhood, I was enchanted - yes enchanted - by the music of Simon and Garfunkel, peach melba and vanilla icecream with a wafer from Fatima's, Sunday matinee sessions of Laurel and Hardy, Bud Spencer  and Terrence Hill and Charles Bronson spaghetti westerns, playing Monopoly and red tartan Keds with white shoe laces.

What a beautiful time in my life......it is filled with the squinty-eyed and crooked smile of my beautiful Grandma who always found laughter in every day.

Sometimes I Get It Wrongly Wrong

http://my365daysofgratitudeandhappiness.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/day-224-new-chapters-long-blog-this-one.html

So I got some of it wrong! That gut feeling? Probably too many jalapenos on my enchiladas, I think. That job lasted 6 months and let's just say (if I am going to brutally honest, then now is a good place to start) that it proved a steep learning curve.

So.........what happened? Hmmmmm.

I trusted too much and too quickly, that's what happened. I had a lapse in judgement where I thought that my honesty and transparency would be returned to me..........and sadly it wasn't. Instead of soaring with eagles, I got eaten by vultures. (It's MY blog and I can be as honest as I want to be).

No, I didn't get sacked nor did I get told to resign and that's all I'm willing to say about it. The business took a turn down a road from the one that I thought we were ALL travelling on and, alas, my integrity would not permit me to continue down that detoured path. With a bit of time and space to think about the events, I have no doubt that it was premeditated and that some people act recklessly and with no concern for the impact their selfish actions have on other people. Me? Bitter? You betcha!

Let me say that it will not stop me from displaying the utmost integrity in all my actions nor will it impede my trust and faith in the better side of humanity but, to get all religious now, there WAS a snake in the Garden of Eden and, sadly, Eve made a bad choice - shit happens.



The positives? SURELY there are positives from this experience? You betcha! (she says, dusting herself off and gaining some strength in her wobbly knees as she gets back up again). Honestly, there ARE positives from this experience and here they are:

• I discovered the stuff that my family are made of - the true stuff, when the chips are down kinda stuff - and I will not forget how brilliantly supportive they've been about this
• I found out who my friends are and how utterly loving and supportive they have been to me
• This experience reinforces my belief that there are good, pure-hearted people out there who operate the way I do......and I have surrounded myself by them
• I have removed the negative forces that I've allowed into my life in the last 6 months and they will not influence or taint my life again. You'll find them on the scrap heap with all the rest of the dung monkeys
• I have a new job - one that I was looking for before I was side-tracked and distracted by this last horrid one so, if nothing else, I took the scenic route to get here.





So, let's develop some healthy amnesia for the last 6 months and progress forward to happy, successful, brilliant times where I will reap a much healthier crop after resowing, right?

To better days and lessons learned - thank you Universe!