It was great to read this post. I’m working my way back into this format generally and am excited about it. I don’t yet have the passion to do this publicly every day; I may move it to my blog. But for now, again, one of the best things Facebook does is capture a moment in time for you, and then, surprise, inspire and delight you (or emotionally wreck you) at the most unexpected moments. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for this post and what I learned from it.
Tag Archives: grateful
#iamgrateful #iamthankful
A year ago I wrote a post about how grateful and thankful I was for the opportunities 2018 presented. Two days later, my father died.
My life changed profoundly on that day and I’ve spent the past year thinking about how to live a more deliberate life. I decided to document that here and I’m working hard to translate this to our team Crazy Egg and to the people who we work for every single day.
Feedback welcome.
Thanks to Hiten Shah Amee Shah John Butler and Neil Patel for the support they showed me that first month and every day ever since.
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/its-time-to-start-paying-attention/
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THANK YOU or BULWARKS
Thank you … so much. I have much to be grateful and thankful for. Where we’ve brought Dream Village; and where we’re poised to take it, is one of those things. Special thanks to Soles4Souls and Children’s Cancer Research Fund who have taken an interest in two of our books and whose work we are incredibly excited to support with more vigor and intent going forward.
Have a great Thanksgiving to those in the US; and as I shared with our amazing (diverse, global) team at Crazy Egg … “In the US we hit Thanksgiving (Canada technically celebrated about a month ago). There’s a storied and controversial history to the holiday but the present spirit is still worth celebrating — be thankful, be grateful.
You don’t have to live in North America to celebrate its spirit; and you don’t have to wait, hold, or target solely today to celebrate it either. It’s been a wonderful year in many ways; it’s also had its fair share of challenges. The kind we only get through when we realize how lucky we are, how many people we have to be thankful and grateful for. I count each of you as a bulwark against the downs, and as wind carrying me through all of those highs (which materially outnumber the former).
Enjoy the week. Find your way to pay attention to the things that matter to you.”#iamgrateful and #iamthankful … ’nuff said (RIP Stan Lee).cc Specifically the people who have gone out of their way to make Dream Village, Where Kids Build Better Tomorrows special this year Dion RidleyOliver BruehlAndrew MandelbaumDominic S. GagliardiMeena Mehta Pinki Shah Erin QuinnLeena PatelPriya S. DalalKC Traveler @emily zotto-barnum Rama ChauhanMalika GandhiSwati GandhiAshish N. PatelStephen KellyPeter Fisher
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A POSITIVE DECLINE or $1.90/DAY
The 25 year trend is one of the major positives in my own lifetime. More work to be done but #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the work done so far.
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DADDY | “THANK YOU. FOR EVERYTHING.” or THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING
“Thank you. For everything.”
48 years. Culminating in four words. Whispered into one ear. Punctuated by a warm kiss. On the still frozen but rapidly thawing cheek. Of the eternal, undeniable love of her life. Before the doors to that ambulance closed. And their physical bodies said goodbye. Forever.
You want to talk about grace? You want to talk about dignity? You want to talk about honoring a legacy? You want to talk about strength?
Mom. Is incredible.
When I was conceived, my mother gave me strength by her own nourishment. When I was born, my mother gave me strength from her milk. When I was a fat kid with a short temper and a penchant for being ridiculed, she gave me strength through her love. When I was a barely competent high schooller, she gave me strength with her faith. When I was struggling at work, she gave me strength through her reinforcement. When I was struggling to find love, she gave me strength by her understanding. When I was struggling with peace and patience as a parent, she gave me strength with her time.
When I lost my Daddy, she gave me strength with her words and her example. Her final words to him as we pulled away in the ambulance toward the crematorium.
No “why did you leave us.” She thought it. She thinks it. I am sure.
No “what will we do.” She thought it. She thinks it. I am sure.
No “How will I go on.” She thought it. She thinks it. I am sure.
Just.
Thank you.
For everything.
“@#%&?! How is she doing this?”
Our truest self come out at our most vulnerable of moments.
Being grateful. Being thankful. That’s my mom’s truest self.
Thank you, Mom, for giving Anu Kiran, Priya KC Bhatt and I strength.
Yesterday we held a Celebration of Life ceremony for Daddy. Mom’s example. Her strength allowed us to make the ceremony about saying thank you to Daddy, for the people he influenced. But also, hopefully, everyone who was there, walked out feeling equally celebrated and thanked. They deserve it.
For 48 years, Family and friends showered our parents and our family with love and support. Bringing a lifetime of smiles to our faces. Helping Daddy leave this world at the height of happiness.
To all of you, there in spirit or in person, thank you for everything.
Life is only going to get more real. It’s not going to stop. It’s not going to get worse. It’s just going to get more real. More finite. Everything that happens now for me comes fully contextualized. As someone who enjoys storytelling, I say that before 2/4, life felt like it only had a beginning and a middle—I now know there’s an end. Not academically. Not an end I can’t empathize with because I’m in my early 20’s. An end that’s all too real because I’m in my 40’s and I’m a dad.
If I have any advice to give, it’s to work deliberately and urgently. Make use of photo albums. Not as a way to remember faces that are gone, but to add vivid back story to people who are here. Hug. Love. Celebrate. Talk to and about the people you love like you would if you knew you’d lost them, and then been granted that one last chance. Silly sh*t. Who cares. Do it.
Yesterday I asked honestly, what I’ve been asking for the past month: is it truly better to have loved and lost. I’ve been struggling with that. This pain is so exceptional, it doesn’t feel like it. It’s compounded by the simple fact of how much my parents loved each other. I sometimes wish now that they were less in love.
But that’s silly. It’s ignoring 48 years of life for what remains.
It is better to have loved and lost. Especially if you find someone who looks at you the way Daddy always looked at Mom.
Thank you, Mom. For your example and your strength.
Thank you, Family and friends, for your love and support.
And thank you Daddy…
…for always looking at Mommy this way.
We’ll be fine. I know we will. Because Mom said so.
Note: I’ve collected all the posts and thoughts I’ve shared about my Daddy’s death in one place. Some people have found it helpful as they’ve navigated through their own experiences, or, as they’ve had to step in to support others. This is one in a series, and you can find the full list of posts here.
DADDY | LOVE or THE INSANELY FINITE
The ability to feel love, is for all intents and purposes, eternal. You express it involuntarily from the moment you’re born, and you express it in whatever form possible for as long as you’re humanly capable. But the ability to show that love to someone, to extend it to the people you love, to know they feel it in return, is incredibly finite.
The ability to make someone feel loved is INsanely finite.
For today, for this Valentine’s Day, I hope you are motivated by the insanely finite in pursuit of the infinite.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that I kissed my Daddy on the cheek every single time I saw him, and every single time I said goodbye. Including when I landed in India last week. My love for my father is infinite and will carry with me until my own last breath. My ability to say it to him directly, and to know that he has heard me, to make sure he knows he was loved, feels today, very much in the realm of the finite.
Love your family. Love your friends. Love the people around you. Not the way you want to love them, but the way they want to be loved. Love them not so you can say aloud that you expressed your love, but rather, so that someone very comfortably and very consistently and very clearly says “I know you love me.”
Love you all. I do. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Note: I’ve collected all the posts and thoughts I’ve shared about my Daddy’s death in one place. Some people have found it helpful as they’ve navigated through their own experiences, or, as they’ve had to step in to support others. This is one in a series, and you can find the full list of posts here.
WELCOME TO DREAM VILLAGE
I owe a lot of people a lot of gratitude. Getting to this particular spot was an on again/off again ride spanning 9 years. I’m really excited about where we are.
For today, the biggest kudos go to Dion Ridley and Oliver Bruehl who made this all possible.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for your partnership and friendship. More to come. But for now … quite simply …Welcome to Dream Village, Where Kids Build Better Tomorrows.
https://www.dream-village.org#buildbettertomorrows
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THINKIN’ ‘BOUT THINKIN’
It’s always helpful to think about…how you think. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for our kids. And how wonderful they are to each other, to us, and to everyone they meet. Some of this stuff feels natural to them. Not deliberate, just natural.
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BE GRATEFUL
Lots to brew, stew, and chew on these days. Find gratitude. What do I know? Who cares? But…trust some neuroscientists. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for evidence of what works.
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DIM SUM
Yo. Best Dim Sum for Friday lunch in NYC. Can’t do Queens or Brooklyn. Sorry. Teach me.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the foodies in my life who will make me, my palate, and a friend’s palate happy. Go!
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Suneet Bhatt 