A 40-Minute Reminder: Gratitude, Grounding, and the Grace of Being Human

This morning, a 40-minute power outage in Sharjah, UAE - my home away from home, brought life to a sudden pause.

- No Wi-Fi.
- No lights.
- No background hum of comfort we barely notice - until it disappears.

What could have been brushed off as an inconvenience became an unexpected moment of truth.

In that stillness, memory walked in.

Memories of growing up with power cuts in India. Of lives that adapted without complaint. Of resilience formed not by choice, but by circumstance. And then came the sharper realization - this is still the lived reality for millions across the world today.

That awareness didn’t arrive as sympathy. It arrived as accountability.

 - A fact check on entitlement.

- A reminder of privilege.

- A mirror held gently but firmly in front of us.

We live in a time where access has blurred into assumption. Electricity, water, connectivity, safety, comfort - these are no longer blessings we acknowledge, but expectations we defend. And somewhere along the way, gratitude has been replaced by impatience.

I remember a quote that I had written long-  ago, “You are born by chance, defined by choices.” 

That truth echoed strongly in that moment.

None of us chose where we were born. None of us chose the privileges or hardships that framed our beginnings. But every single day, we choose who we become in response to them.

As we grow older - and hopefully wiser - we move through hardships, rise through resilience, and define success in many forms: professional, financial, social, intellectual. Yet, in this pursuit, we often forget the responsibility that comes with growth.

-       To give back.

-       To stay grounded.

-       To remain sustainable - not just successful.

Because growth without gratitude is hollow.

We are shaped by societies, communities, mentors, families, strangers, circumstances - both kind and cruel. Physically, professionally, financially, mentally, spiritually - we are never self-made, no matter how convincing the story sounds.

And yet, the most humbling truth remains: we come alone, and we leave alone.

At the end of it all, what truly stays behind is not what we accumulated, but what we contributed. Respect. Values. Impact. The four people who carry you to your final destination - and the memories you leave behind through your presence, your words, your actions.

That is legacy.

“Knowledge might come in abundance, but wisdom is imparted drop by drop.”

In our obsession with more - more success, more comfort, more luxury - we often confuse knowing with understanding. Knowledge fills the mind. Wisdom humbles the soul. And wisdom reminds us that hoarding is not abundance. Giving is!

• The joy of giving away happiness.

• The quiet fulfillment of sharing knowledge.

• The grace of offering time without expectation.

• The lightness of letting money flow where it can heal, uplift, or empower.

That satisfaction cannot be purchased. It can only be practiced.

And perhaps the deepest reflection of all is our relationship with the body and the self.

“Our soul lives in a rental home - the mortal coil. It pays rent through our breaths and leaves when the lease expires. We beautify, get obsessed, discriminate on appearances, make blatant assumptions and presumptions, and are attached to what is a temporary home. The soul is immortal and the body its coffin - and that is the eternal truth of life.”

Yet, we invest all our energy in decorating what is temporary, while neglecting what is eternal.

We judge, compare, envy, and discriminate - forgetting that beneath the surface, we are all just passing through. Borrowed time. Borrowed form. Borrowed breath.

That 40-minute outage was not darkness. It was illumination.

 - A reminder to appreciate what we have.

- To control our lust for luxury.

- To practice gratitude consciously.

- To become conscientious human beings - not consumers of excess.

Because success is admirable - but humanity is unforgettable.

- True wealth lies not in what we store, but in what we share.

- True power lies not in control, but in compassion.

- True fulfillment lies not in accumulation, but in contribution.

And sometimes, life gently switches off the lights - so we can finally see what truly matters.

From the crevices of my mind and luminance from my soul…..

- Kay S