Song For Soul: Grateful (Rita Ora)

As I’m settling back with school and work after an amazing summer – and aligning my actions with my intentions, as life continues to show me how amazingly well it is turning to be every day again, as I am reaching new levels of awareness and joy, when this song started playing this morning, I felt every word of it.

This song has been in my playlists for some years, but you know the deal with songs that you have listened to one “too” many times – you start skipping them as soon as they start playing. Today was different, though; I started smiling as soon as this song started playing. I paid attention to the lyrics after quite some time today. As I was listening, I kept smiling. I was in such a state of gratitude – and this song amplified that feeling of gratitude even more.

2018 has brought me a series of events and circumstances that did something else altogether with me. I will be more specific and disclose more details about this roller-coaster of a year in due time. But I can tell you this: even after the most unimaginable painful events and seemingly unbearable pain, even after my life has been turned upside down after I thought I had it all figured out, even when my heart got broken into pieces, here I stand, more grateful than ever. In the words of Rita,

“I was sinking, I was drowning in doubt. The weight all of the pain was weighing me down. Pulled it together and I pulled myself out. Learned a lesson. … That there’s a lot you gotta go through. But that’s what got me strong, I got no regrets. And I’ve got only love, got no bitterness – count my blessings.”

Basically, that’s more-or-less how I feel as of right now.

If you’ve ever lived your worst nightmare and still managed to rise above it all gracefully, this might be a song for you.

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Complete Lyrics

There were a lot of tears I had to cry through
A lot of battles left me battered and bruised
And I was shattered, had my heart ripped in two
I was broken, I was broken.
There were a lot of times I stumbled and crashed
When I was on the edge, down to my last chance
So many times when I was so convinced that
I was over, I was over.

But I had to fall yeah
To rise above it all

I’m grateful for the storm
Made me appreciate the sun
I’m grateful for the wrong ones
Made me appreciate the right ones
I’m grateful for the pain
For everything that made me break
I’m thankful for all my scars
‘Cause they only make my heart
Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful
Grateful

I was sinking, I was drowning in doubt
The weight all of the pain was weighing me down
Pulled it together and I pulled myself out
Learned a lesson, learned a lesson
That there’s a lot you gotta go through, hell yes
But that’s what got me strong, I got no regrets
And I’ve got only love, got no bitterness
Count my blessings, count my blessings, yeah

I’m proud of every tear, yeah
‘Cause they got me here.

There is nothing I would change
That even one mistake I made
I got lost, found myself, found my way.

You know that I’m grateful
You know that I care
No time for the wrong ones
I’ll always be there
Grateful
Woah (Grateful, grateful, grateful)
I’m grateful, oh yeah (Grateful, grateful)
Oh, I’m grateful, yeah