Learning From The Women At Gramshree

For some time, Wednesdays at Gramshree were open to anyone to come in and volunteer with the women. Of late, we thought of taking things further and creating small circles of sharing with the volunteers and the women of the community.
 
There have been some pretty powerful moments, but one Wednesday stood out in particular!
 
We had given everyone Gratitude diaries and asked them to maintain a record of things they were grateful for. One woman shared that she had lost her parents at a very young age. After marriage, her in-laws went out of their way to make her feel comfortable and loved since they knew she never had parents. She explained how she had spent a majority of her life feeling incomplete before marriage. But as she began writing in her gratitude diary, she realized she was now actually grateful for not having parents, since it meant her in-laws were that much more caring. Just the thought of being grateful for something like this shook me up – it made me think about my sorrows in a different way.
Could I actually feel grateful for the things that I felt negative about?
 
Another lady Sangeeta stood up and shared an incident where she and her father were on a bike when it broke down. She narrated how so many strangers came forward to help them. As she stood by the side watching them fix the situation, she could see the joy on everyone’s faces. At that moment, she realized that no one was giving or receiving. Everything had become one! I heard this and was blown away. She was someone who hadn’t read much or heard too many talks – yet she had a realization that was so powerful!
 
As the volunteers and the women sat down to enjoy their Wednesday ‘Pot – Luck Lunch’ I stood back in awe of what I had witnessed. I was so grateful to experience all this love.
 
I wasn’t sure who was giving and who was receiving anymore :)