The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Jamaica’

American thanksgiving is coming so much attention is on gratitude, but gratitude should be an every day thing, not just a day or week. In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October. In Jamaica where I was born, the church celebrates harvest and they have Harvest Supper, which happened this past weekend. I try to express my gratitude each day, sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fall short, so I try to do it as life unfolds and things happen and that works for me. Here are seven things that I am grateful for.

Family: I am grateful to my family for loving me, even when I screw up and screw up badly. They may lecture me, which I do not like, but I know their hearts are in the right place so I listen and don’t have to agree, but I know that all is well.

Good Friends: I am grateful to true friend who keep me grounded, who give me the space when I need to grow or figure out things for myself.

Health: I am grateful for my health because when I am in good health I can do many things.

Another Day: Each day when I awake I realize that I have been given another day on this wonderful day to do something remarkable and I am eternally grateful even when I do not live each day as if it was my last.

Opportunities: I am grateful for the opportunities that present themselves in my life because they allow me to be remarkable, as well as of service to others.

Freedom: This is something that many take for granted, including myself because we live in a free state. In Jamaica they have a saying that you never know the use of a half until you lose it. This should be a reminder to us that we shouldn’t take what we have for granted.

Adversity: I am grateful for adversity – it took me a long time to figure this one out – because it brings tremendous opportunities. The past five years have been challenging ones for me, but I have grown so much, that I would never trade thge darkest period of my life for promises of sunnier days. I know myself so much better and I am also a better person. It’s a humbling feeling when things fall apart and the good thing you get to put it together again and this time you can use a different template or pattern. My writing has more depth because I been to the School of Hard Knocks.

I am sharing a piece of me with you, what are you thankful for? This is my entry to the 7 Things You Are Thankful For Group Writing Project 2009. Let’s keep the conversation flowing like a river, please comment. Also consider contributing to this Writing Project, what are 7 things that you are thankful for?

I have always prided myself on being very aware and having excellent observation skills, but every so often something happens, which takes me down a notch or two and reminds me that there is always room for improvement.

There are lessons to learn every day.

In 2003, my niece and I traveled to Grenada for the Caribbean Gift and Craft Show held in late September. As is our practice when we travel, based on recommendations from the hotel where we were staying, we hired a local as our tour guide.

We spent quite some time on a tour of a Nutmeg Factory. Having grown up in Jamaica, I was familiar with nutmegs, but I assumed that you used the nutmeg straight from the tree. I had no idea of the intricacies involved in the entire production process. During the tour, I learned that the nutmeg is separated from the mace which is subsequently used in lipstick manufacturing. The nutmeg is used as a spice, but in recent years it has also been used to make essential oils, which is good for pain relief.

Look around you, what incorrect assumptions are you making?

Life is a gift, take nothing for granted.

Again in 2007, my niece and I traveled to China for an international conference. For our trip, we booked a 4-day tour for Beijing before we traveled to Shanghai for the more formal part of our trip.

Being in Beijing reminded me of how much I take for granted. A normally simple task such as ordering in a restaurant became a major event because we did not speak the language. And, the menus did not have photos so we could not point to a dish indicating that that’s what we wanted to order.

I felt completely out of my element. Later that night, while lying on my bed in the hotel room, I was reminded of what it feels like to not be included, and to me this was a perfect lesson to be always mindful of how I treat others, and to make the extra effort to make others feel included. I have been at networking events and did not reach out to others who clearly appeared uncomfortable because I told myself that I was an introvert, so let the other person take on the responsibility.

What are simple things you can do to make others feel welcome and like they belong?

Because you are certain it is so, does not mean it is so.

There was an exercise in Did You Spot the Gorilla?: How to Recognise the Hidden Opportunities in Your Life by Richard Wiseman, where you had to fill in the missing numbers on the face of a clock with Roman numerals. I completed the exercise in seconds and thought how easy the exercise was. I was wrong! It turns out that in nearly all instances, except for the Big Ben in London, the number four is represented as IIII on clocks and watches and not IV. Richard Wiseman is from the United Kingdom so I automatically thought that this had to be a UK phenomenon.

The next day I went looking for clocks with Roman numerals and discovered that the number four was indeed represented as IIII. I always prided myself on being very observant, so I was shocked that I didn’t notice this before. I asked many of my friends if they had ever noticed that the four was written as IIII and not IV, and I was very pleased when they all answered no.

It appears that when the brains come across anything over and over, it tends to switch off. How many things do we miss because our brains are switched off?  And are we operating on automatic pilot?

To learn from my lessons, give your life a shake up, be aware of what is going on around you, and be grateful and appreciative for all the good you have in your life now.

• Each night before you go to sleep give thanks for three things that you are grateful for
• Be a tourist in your own city
• Participate in cultural events other than your own
• Attend a live theatre performance
• Eat at different restaurants
• Start a conversation with a stranger
• Perform a task a different way
• Hop on the train and ride it to the end of the line, get off and explore the area
• Identify five other ways you can give your life a shake up

Each day we should be striving to be better, and these are simple things we can do to evolve and blossom into the person we were meant to be.

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Photo Credit: Avil Beckford Laughing Buddha in Beijing Restaurant

Castleton, Jamaica

Heraclitus a Greek philosopher born in 544 b.c. said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” What does that quote mean to you?

For me, the river is always moving because it’s alive so it’s never the same, and everyday people change because they have new experiences which shape them. If everything is in a state of flux, how can we use that to our advantage?

With a new perspective, how can we approach our work differently to be more efficient? How can we approach a problem that we are having differently? And, how can we elevate ourselves to view the problem differently? Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

What are you thoughts? Can you step into the same river twice? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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