8 Things my Grandmother taught me that made me #TheWomanThatIAm

After my mother passed away when I was twelve, my maternal grandmother became the mother figure in my life. Despite battling with breast cancer and losing her only daughter, she made a vow to live for me, to raise me as a strong, independent woman and only leave the world when she has done her job successfully. It was because of her tremendous will power that she survived several operations and became a breast cancer survivor.

From a grandmother to a mother to a best friend and guide, she played various roles in my life. I would like to mention 8 things that my grandmother taught me which made me the woman that I am.

1.Never give the driver's seat of your life to anyone.

During my late teens and early twenties, I often relied on others for making important decisions. My grandmother taught me to control the steering and drive my own life. She taught me to make my own decisions and never give that power to anyone else, no matter how close they are to me or how difficult it is for me to make the decision. She taught me to take full ownership of my life and responsibility for my actions so that I never play the blame game or behave like a victim. 

2.Faith will take you anywhere you want to go.

Today, I am a huge believer in the law of attraction. It is from my grandmother that I learned faith can make anything possible whereas doubts can ruin everything.

3.Nothing is stronger than your willpower.

As I already mentioned, it was my grandmother’s willpower that helped her survive many operations.  When I was giving my class 12 board exams, I was suffering from a chronic migraine that hardly allowed me to study. I thought I would fail in my exams. It was during that time she told me that nothing is stronger than willpower. And true to her words, I managed my studies by sheer willpower and passed the exams with flying colors. 

4.If you want to know whether a person or place is good for you, observe how you are feeling within when you meet that person or visit that place. Your intuition will never lie.

During my early twenties, I made too many mistakes in recognizing people. As a result, many people took advantage of my goodness and betrayed my trust. That is when my grandmother gave me this beautiful pearl of advice, which has helped me over the years to understand people better.

5.People who love us unconditionally never leave us. They live within us, providing courage and strength during the hours we need it.

Whenever I missed my mother, my grandmother comforted me with these words until I realized how true it is. 

6. Life is an echo. What we give, return to us manifold. Bless everyone and blessings will return to you manifold. Talking negatively about anyone will make that person talk more negatively about you, thereby making the relationship bitter.

Whenever I felt someone wronged me and talked negatively about them, this is what my grandmother told me. And after many years of ignoring it, today I live by this advice and try not to think/talk negatively about anyone. 

7.Tears are not a sign of weakness. The person who can cry without inhibitions can laugh freely.

After I lost my mother, I used to try to maintain a tough exterior. I used to feel ashamed of crying. When I used to see my grandmother in tears, holding my mother’s photograph, I used to feel uncomfortable. That was when my grandmother taught me to embrace tears with the same ease that I embrace laughter. And that has helped me laugh and live life to the fullest.

8.Honesty is the best prayer.

My grandmother was a very spiritual person. I had never seen her telling a lie. When I asked her how she manages to do it, she told me that the best way to be close to God, is to be honest. Satyam Shivam Sundaram! Truth is God. Over the years, as I became more spiritually inclined, these words of my grandmother got ingrained in my mind and helped me become a better person.

My grandmother left the world in 2017, when I was twenty six, but her life continues to inspire me. Just like Mahatma Gandhi said, “My life is my message”, my grandmother’s life was her message to all her loved ones. She was my grandmother, mother, friend, guide, and soulmate combined into one. She lives within me and her love sheaths me from every danger.

Blankets of snow

Fail to smother the warmth

Of my pashmina shawl

That my grandmother

Weaved for me

A decade back.

How adeptly

Her labor of love

Defeats the frosty thorns

From stinging me today.

Love alone triumphs!

“This post is a part of ‘The Woman That I Am’ Blog Hop #TheWomanThatIAm organized by Rashi Roy and Manas Mukul #RRxMM. The Event is sponsored by Kraffitti.”