How Grateful Can We Really Be?

Please take a moment to click the link and dance to the song I’ve shared in this article.

As I sat watching the water cascading on the mossy rocks, it was time to pause and ask myself - “How Greateful Can We Really Be?”

In the year 2018, just as I sat reflecting on the value of honest friendships, fair play, gratitude, forgiveness and self-care, I thought to myself - if we ever questioned what the future holds, we’d never learn to walk bravely. This then became the subject of my Dec 31 tweet and this also was reflective of the way I felt as I sat one year ago making plans for 2018 and seeing it unfold before my eyes - with bundles and ripples of gratitude.

I had been making plans which included work and play - some plans with friends and some that entailed my own enjoyment - one such to play Trinidad and Tobago carnival, the other - to learn a new language. 

Just when the festivity was growing on the Carnival season, I spent a few hours in the Emergency Room because my breathing was affected.

Of course without breath, what are we? So that’s when I decided again into the brave walk of just letting it become, as it unfolded. The price of faith is always something we can never estimate. 

The year 2018 has been a combination of lessons which have also contributed to my many pauses for immense gratitude before I move to the next stop.

I saw love, abundance, friendship, new cities and grace with the same lenses that I saw adversity and compromise. What does one do when there are two diverse ends? Once clings to gratitude and presses forward.

After my ER experience, my two lovely St. Lucian sisters would arrive to enjoy the Trinidad Carnival and as for me, it was time to head to a retreat at the Headquarters of Johnson and Johnson. As for me, I could not quote the words of King of Soca - Machel Montano - https://youtu.be/awTgomshjFI - but it was all good! I had been blessed with the opportunity that was not only given to me, but represented part of my journey in becoming. 

The next weeks would find me engaging in Partnerships, Collaborations, Programming, Mentorships, Presentations and Pay It Forward actions - far and wide. 

At home on TrinBagonian Soil, it would herald my being honoured by AFETT as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year, for International Women’s Day 2018. My adventures would find me having the opportunity to speak to corporate leaders, women, girls, communities and families about Breast Health, Adolescent Health, Maternal Health and so many other of my personal loves. It would allow me to Mentor Women in Business and to delve into some of the many empowerment actions that form part of my DNA in giving back - on purpose. 

By now, my gratitude was on steroids and I was also breathing better. It was by far the fact that I was able to acknowledge that some gifts don’t come in wrappers but keep on giving and filling us with infinite love.

If I had lost anything, it was time to also be grateful. Sometimes this is where space for abundance can be found. Clearing space is so important and sometimes the universe does the clearing for us. I had to acknowledge this in a loving way and become used to the changes that came with this. 

What would follow would be invitations to learn more, share more and give more. 

I visited many cities - all for purpose and with new lenses each time. Lenses that magnified whilst those of others contracted. Lenses that allowed me to see in fluorescence and to have smell-a-vision. 

Along with what I already knew and felt the blessings of, I met new sisters, new mentors, new friends, new experiences, new villages, new chefs, new teachers, new lessons - Paris, Versailles, Miami, DC, St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad &Tobago - Toco, Matelot, Cedros, and of course deep inside mi Corazon! 

I participated in drafting the Castries Declaration - seeing an island build a mandate for healthy living and a healthy future. I sat among women, men, entrepreneurs and decision makers - together in a room to build a national Social Narrative and I could not help myself but heal from the inner core! A Caribbean Villager should treat each island with equal respect as their home Island! 

Today I sit and ask myself - How Grateful can We Really Be? The answer - as grateful as we choose! 

I choose gratitude and YOU are swimming with me inside this unfathomable pond!