Because there is always, always something to be thankful for.

No matter how good or terrible we have it right now, we must wake up each day thankful for our lives, because someone, somewhere is desperately fighting for theirs.

Do you know what loss feels like? I have smelled it. I have sniffed at it. From close quarters. The loss of my friend through a terrible car accident. The loss of my beloved granddad through cancer, a disease that eats its host.

Loss stabs your nights in ways you can’t explain. You shiver at the thought of losing someone else you love.

Damn world! Stop taking my loved ones away from me.

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Do you hold on to what you’ve lost or be thankful you loved them until the end?

You have the options right in front of you.

You can hold on to your loss. Cling to it and refuse to open your heart ever again.

Or, you can choose to go all in on gratitude. I am thankful I spent quality time with my granddad. I am thankful I loved my friend and she loved me. I am thankful for every single minute I spent with my loved ones.

Choose to go all in on gratitude. Not because you are saintly. But because you deserve peace. You deserve the stillness of mind which you will never get if you don’t search for something to be thankful for.

From the mixed bag of remembering and grieving, choose to not resent your loss. It is not easy, mind you.

You scream into your pillows at night. And you cry for hours. And yet. You choose to do what is right. Not what you want.

It’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it is what you do with what you have left, from moment to precious moment.

As the bitter taste of loss leaves you, eroding off your inners, leaving you bleeding, you find something to be thankful for in you growing. Fondly. Wonderfully.

The emptiness loss leaves in you remains. Empty and hollow. In the battle between the left-over memories and emptiness, gratitude wins. Slowly. Steadily. Imperceptibly.

Going all in on gratitude wins, my friend. As gratitude wins in every step, you heal from your loss.

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Young or old, healthy or sick, rich or poor, death is coming for all of us at the end.

We have a choice.

To complain and hate and wallow in our own mind and lament our fate when life takes away someone we love. Why did I lose my friend through a terrible car accident? Why did my granddad had to die a horrible death?

Questions with no answers.

I agonized over huge decisions until I witnessed my good friend’s car flip over on the highway like a matchbox. She was young and our story was just starting. I never got to see how it would end.

I learned things happen because they happen.

So, I have to be grateful for the memories I have with my friend.

Instead of complaining and hating the world for what it takes from you, be grateful for all the things that are right in front of you. As long as you’re breathing, you have life.

So, love, sing, cry, and do everything in your power to squeeze the marrow out of life dancing till the end.

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My granddad got cancer and died a horrible death. I raged at the injustice and cruelty of it all until I understood.

People die.

Forget about why the hell you’ve lost someone precious. Forget about wondering what you did to deserve this tragedy. Forget about fighting with the world for taking away a loved one.

Instead, go all in on gratitude. Open your heart until you hear it crack. Every second of every day you get to spend with the ones you love is special.

Every subtle action. Every cup of coffee. Every mile you walk together. Every minute you giggle over the phone. Every frame of the intimate video chat you have.

Every morsel and every fiber of your loved one is priceless. Value it. Respect it. Hold her close. Hold him close. Be grateful for them.

You don’t live forever.

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“I have metastatic breast cancer, ” my mom’s friend said. Her face contorted into a grimace. Her eyes moistened. Her shoulders convulsed.

There it is.

The finality of life. Its fleetingness.

The knowing that this person in front of you – whom you’ve seen laughing, dancing, and hugging – is being attacked from within.

That the battle is almost always a losing one. The rogue cells are the victors that have decided to aggressively assault their host

The only question, how long.

And yet.

She answered to life’s cruel test with a vengeance.

“When death comes for me, ” she said, “ you better believe it’ll have to take me dancing. ”

The skin on the back of my neck pricked with goosebumps. I’d never heard something more powerful.

In all of us, there is a feeble, insecure, vulnerable, and gorgeous life, clinging on to fluttering hopes. Desperately. To live.

My mom’s friend supplements the best of conventional medicine with the best of alternative medicine. And soldiers onwards.

She does a ton of inner work to find out any emotional issues holding back her immune system. She harnesses all the hope and love from her loved ones.

Setting aside all magical thinking, your attitude creates your reality. Coming at life with gratitude for what you have changes what you experience.

There is always, always something to be thankful for.

Calling your loved ones over the phone and hearing their voices. Waking up in the morning and stretching and reveling in that stretch. Drinking coffee. Eating good food and sighing at how good it tastes. Kissing a lot. Making love. Opening a window and watching the clouds go by. Sleeping a lot. Or, staying up late.

The only meaning of life is to live it. And for that, you must never miss out on all the things that are right in front of you.

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Life changes, constantly, and often unpredictably.

If you’re being pulled in every direction by forces beyond your control, take time to breathe. And realign yourself with what you value most in your life.

Your life is all about this moment.

So, allow yourself to be present in everything you do. Allow yourself to enjoy each second of your life – to observe the world around you, the people present in your life, and the beauty present within and all around you.

That way, you can’t help but go all in on gratitude.

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To your inspiration,

Banchi