Academy Team Cupsgiving Gratitude Train: Pass it On!

Thank you, Souris!

I feel grateful that I started again drawing and painting after years of not holding a brush or a pencil. 

It lifted my spirits and allowed me to express my appreciation for life in new ways.

@PetiteSouris

@PetiteSouris

I agree with you about being grateful for life itself. 

There is a story that is slightly long but I thought relevant to mention here

Trigger warning cancer and death:

I realised the value of life when I was studying years ago and someone I was studying with had lung cancer in the last stages.  However, she was very positive and said she felt that the cancer was a gift from God.  She said that all good things had happened to her since she had the cancer and she had opportunities she did not have before ..as she was Bangladeshi she said her family would not have allowed her to study or travel as a female but they were allowing her to do everything because of the cancer hoping she would get better.  She also felt the cancer was a sign of Gods love for her, especially when it was pressing against her lung and causing some pain.  She said that if she lived she hoped to be a great teacher but if she died she hoped she would die doing good things and in Gods love.  When I left, I received a message of condolences that she had passed away, which I never expected - she was only nineteen and was younger than myself.  I did not expect that and felt sad for her on the one hand that she did not achieve her dream but also ashamed of myself for not appreciating life and opportunities I had - I suddenly saw that life is full of opportunities and is truly a blessing.  The air that we breath daily, the people we meet, and our health are all blessings.   

I learned from her that even the bad things or sufferings we can go through can be blessings and we might not notice them.

It is also not permanent so I realised that we should not allow our set backs to keep us back...

In the end I realised that despite not living to become the teacher she had hoped to be she has probably been my greatest teacher in life - by only a few words and demonstrating how you can be so grateful for life and for the things we things we suffer with.  

I realised that God Almighty does answer us in ways we do not often expect.  He also gives good through things we see as negative at times.

  I actually decided to help her in her goal to teach people by continuing to pass on this example - her example - and mention her story so that she can still continue to teach people this example and be a great teacher and get rewards from God from beyond the grave.

Seeing several friends pass away who were young (another one had a heart attack after saying she would speak to me in two days) and a teacher to cancer I have come to realise that despite anything else life is the greatest blessing and within that the people we meet, our families and loved ones are all blessings in life that we don't always notice until they are gone.