Community Voices for Health

By: Dr. Tanvi Maharaja

I looked out the window
To a cold morning under an overcast sky
I saw no sun nor bird nor bloom, Oh the dismay!
I whined and moaned and complained all day
And as I went to bed, “at least,” thought I,
“I have enough to get by.”

I woke up the next day to see a little bud
Smack in the center of the stone cold yard
I smiled and thanked
The powers that be, for this little surprise
And I felt the gratitude in my bosom rise.

The winds had changed as the sun then rose
The more I thought about how wonderful it was,
The more wondrous I noticed life became.
And I saw green in places I had never looked
For being thankful was all it took.

As I closed my eyes that night
They opened to what was always in my sight:
I must look from a place of gratitude – higher up.
To divine the many blessings that life had strewn

Like a myriad shower of petals, over a field of bloom.

So I counted my blessings
And thanked the Lord, for health and peace,
For joy and bliss.
And I was thankful, for family and friends, 
For food on the table, and roof above our heads.

And the more I thanked, the more I felt
The gratitude wash over me.
I could keep whining and complaining
Or I could allow my heart to be grateful,
For such is life – bountiful, beautiful.