A Season of Grace and Gratitude
Finding Inner Peace in the Holiday Season
Dear Reader,
Have you been thinking about what 2024 has been like for you? Taking stock, sort of? What do you feel grateful for as you look back at the year that was?
For me, 2024 has been full of bittersweet surprises. I found myself battling a rollercoaster of emotions as the empty nest confronted me. Gratitude to my Guru for the blessings and challenges He guided me to navigate through. Whenever I felt alone, He showed me that I wasn’t; his omnipresence expressed itself through many ways.
Letting go of the ties that bind is the toughest test - whether it a loved one who passes on to the other realm, or a child whose passage into the young adult’s world of entering the University is inevitable. The amazing kindness of good people teaches me why we are here on earth: to remind ourselves of goodness, compassion, and what it means to be human - so that we can embody the kindness and goodness within.
Coming back to my home, I would feel the absence of my teen almost every moment. It hit so hard that I didn’t step into his room for three days. In every step forward, I sensed the grace embracing me; more so, amidst tears of despair.
If there are few lessons I learned this year, it is this:
Trust ONLY in Divine Grace.
Gratitude unlocks miracles; prayers work when it springs from purity.
The more we can help others, the kinder we are - the more powerful beings we become.
With a hectic travel schedule, there has been a slight reading slump this month.
Plus, I have a stack of books I have to get back to - what about you?
I’d love to hear from you.
Write to me at swapnazanand@gmail.com and if you love reading books, follow Svara's Bookshelf on Instagram!
last quote
“To be mature you have to realize what you value most. It is extraordinary to discover that comparatively few people reach this level of maturity. They seem never to have paused to consider what has value for them. They spend great effort and sometimes make great sacrifices for values that, fundamentally, meet no real needs of their own. Perhaps they have imbibed the values of their particular profession or job, of their community or their neighbors, of their parents or family. Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one’s own values is a tragic waste. You have missed the whole point of what life is for.” — Eleanor Roosevelt