Gratitude Unplugged

Strapped for time, bits and pieces of left over tasks lining up the to-do list, is when the feeling of happy fulfillment energizes me most. While peace of mind and a stress-free life are treasured above all - I love that dose of adrenaline rush too that comes from random variety in life - or, as you might want to call it, tackling the 'curve balls' life throws at you.

Isn't nature all about variety too? Plants growing in wild abandon at their very own pace, creatures of every possible kind living in their spaces, the many moods of Nature beautifying the earth in their own time...  I like to think about my life as something similar - disparate elements and events co-existing in perfect and imperfect harmony as life simply goes on, like a little girl out on an adventure, Wonder in her eyes and Courage on her sleeve, egging her on.

'Stepping out of the comfort zone' was hardly a choice as I saw it - it was a more of a compulsion that etched its lessons into my days, shaping me along the way.

When I walked out of a teaching job that I cherished, more than a decade ago, I willingly explored a  yet undiscovered realm in my role as a soft-skills trainer. That brush with the corporate world left me wiser in many ways. After that project ended, I found myself walking back to children and life warmed up in a completely different manner ever since. Now after almost a decade, I was asked to step into a role I had never imagined that I would take up before - initial hesitation gave way to the instinct that said 'This is the way to go.'

Almost four official months later, I clasp my palms in gratitude for all the things that took place along my journey to bring me to this place in Faridabad. A place...

....where learning merely happens while kids and staff go merrily about their day.
...where ideas strike at the most unexpected time and are not just welcomed passionately but implemented beautifully, (filling you with gratitude all over again.)
...where the freedom to think, speak and act is encouraged along with the understanding that being sensitive to other's needs is important.
....where competition is that little bug inside your head that tells you to get better at whatever it is you are good at doing.
.....where it is cool to be kind
 ....where you talk about what you believe in.
....where looking after the environment is a duty.
....where the Shri core values are a way of life

Into this piece of heaven I feel blessed to have been led into.

And even as the cacophony of irreverent, materialistic voices tries hard to drown the gleeful sounds in this oasis, I love the way we stand our ground - ever blossoming, ever blooming , spreading our precious shine through it all, no matter what.

I wait with bated breath for my first Founder's Day celebrations here, this warm place that has embraced me with open arms, and pray fervently for each little atom that makes TSMS Faridabad what it is. May it continue to be the happy place children love to come to. May we climb higher mountains on our way, growing stronger each year. Heartfelt blessings!