The one about gratitude

My dad passed away last week.

It is a surreal experience seeing someone pass away in front of your eyes. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel, but the first thing that came to mind was gratitude.

Gratitude for the nurses and doctors who work in the oncology ward and see the passing of life on a daily basis. They showed the utmost empathy for us during this difficult time, and for this, I feel deeply grateful.

During my time at the hospital, the nurses and doctors talked about how kind my dad was towards them, even during his final days. He never complained, he never made a fuss, and I’m not surprised.

My dad has been on a spiritual path during these past few years.

I’ve seen this transform his mindset, shape his personality, and bring forth a deep sense of purpose.

At first, I didn’t buy into it at all.

“Son, you’ll find your own path.”

Slowly but surely, his influence started to seep into my core.

I started reading books by Eckhart Tolle, Michael Singer, and Wayne Dyer to feed my curiosity.

I started listening to podcasts by modern practitioners like Jay Shetty and Sadhguru to feed my mind.

I started writing to go deeper and wrap my mind around topics like ego, consciousness, and intuition to feed my soul.

The more I write, the more I understand.

The more I understand, the more I see.

The more I see, the more I realize that my dad has been dropping breadcrumbs along the way to guide my path.

After he passed, I started going through his medical reports to get a better understanding of what happened.

I came across this line:

Social History: Born in Vietnam, emigrated 30–40 years ago, worked in manufacturing, has two grown children that he is very proud of.

He must have talked about us a lot to the doctors — so much that it became part of his medical history. This hit me hard, and it still does.

Am I sad? Of course.

But at the same time, I’m also at peace.

My dad passed peacefully in the presence of loved ones and lived with no regrets.

There is still a lot to process through.

And I’m going to take things a day at a time.

But for now, “Thanks again Dad — I can take it from here”.