Life and experiences change us!
Always let them change you for the better and not the worse! Live and love life!
Keep being you, keep smiling & always be true to yourself!
Today I take this opportunity to celebrate life, love and blessings! Some may think that a post ‘Celebrating Independence Day 2018’ may be ideal but considering the recent turn of events in our country there is a clear contrast in the way I felt last year and the way I feel this year. I am sure many can understand this and many can also relate to it.
Interestingly enough many have been checking my post from last year in this past week, particularly yesterday and today. For those of you who are interested in what that post is about please visit https://rachaelathomasj.com/2017/08/31/celebrating-independence-day-2017
I am happy many opted to visit the page. Maybe it was due to a feeling of patriotism, maybe it serves as a reminder of how drastically things have changed, or maybe just maybe, it is a combination of both.
In all honesty (take note that I always write in all honesty)my heart goes out to the many who had to tell their families they lost their jobs and they don’t know where their next income will come from. Bear in mind it is not just workers of PETROTRIN but hundreds who work for contractors that work for PETROTRIN and the hundreds and thousands who are being sent home in other sectors of the economy.
As if things weren’t already tough we continue to see how they are getting tougher and suffering increases. What it does mean though is that the struggle is real and now more than ever we have to be thankful for life and blessings! We have to continue praying not just for ourselves and our families but we have to pray for each other and for our country. We have to pray for peace and for courage to face the current reality and what lies ahead.
As if the earthquake on August 21 was not enough of a ‘shake-up’ (yes, it is an act of nature we could not prevent) but as a country we have been surviving increases in the amount traffic fines are now costing, people continue to lose jobs, cost of living continues to rise and this past week has been filled with heart wrenching news of the realities of the energy sector.
Now more than anything we have to remember that to be humane we have to live like humans. Now more than ever we have to look out for each other, we have to be steadfast in our prayer and we have to be steadfast in our devotion. Further to that we have to be thankful that our experiences make us wiser and they make us stronger. More so we have to be confident that they will guide us forward and help us to make more informed choices and more practical ones at best.
Let us look at what we can be thankful for:
· We got up this morning (some did not).
· We made it through the day in spite of pain, in spite of hurt and in spite of the challenges we have been facing or the challenges we faced today.
· We are loved and we are blessed by the Divine who has given us life.
· I got an opportunity to share this post with you and you got an opportunity to read it.
· I got to tell you that you are not alone and in case you felt you were hopefully now you know you are not.
As Mother Teresa said, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
I ask that you be mindful of the fact that survival is a key part of moving forward! Prayer is a key part of surviving and having faith is a key part of why we pray and how we choose to live. Never believe that you are alone because you are not!
In closing please remember this: His Holiness Param Pujya Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji always reminds devotees, “If you are a Hindu, be a good Hindu. If you are a Christian, be a good Christian and if you are a Muslim, be a good Muslim.”
To those of you who have been chanting “Shivaaya Rudraaya Namaha” as directed by His Holiness I urge you to continue doing so! To those who are praying please continue to pray and please share the message of peace. Please share the need to pray, to look out for each other and to not give up. Let this be an added source of motivation to you:
August 21st, 2018 will forever be remembered as one of the scariest days and one of the most horrific in the lives of many in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension Venezuela, Grenada, St Lucia and all the other countries that felt the impact of the 7.3 earthquake at 5.31pm. 
Celebrating Existence 