I have lived a life of many shades and am very thankful to God

Hear, O seeker of wisdom, the words of Neena Gupta, who declared with a heart both tested and triumphant: “I have lived a life of many shades and am very thankful to God for what He has given me and not given me.” These words shine with a rare humility, for they are not the voice of one who only praises abundance, but of one who has embraced both gifts and denials, blessings and absences, as sacred instruments of her destiny. It is easy to be thankful for what we receive; it is harder—and holier—to be thankful for what is withheld.

The origin of this utterance lies in the long journey of Gupta herself, who has walked through the luminous and the shadowed, through acclaim and controversy, through joys of creation and pains of rejection. Her life has indeed been of many shades—a tapestry of colors both bright and dark. Yet in them all she has discerned the hand of the Divine, guiding not only through what was bestowed but through what was denied. For sometimes, the gates that do not open are as merciful as the doors that welcome us in.

This wisdom is reflected in the story of Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who was born a slave, endured hardship, and yet declared that freedom lies not in possessing all things, but in mastering one’s desires. He taught that what is withheld by the gods may be as great a gift as what is given, for denial saves us from paths we are not meant to walk. Gupta’s words echo this timeless truth: she is thankful not only for the fullness of her cup, but also for the emptiness that shaped her hunger, her resilience, and her clarity of vision.

Her mention of a life of many shades reveals an understanding of existence as neither purely light nor purely dark, but as a spectrum of experiences. In this way, her gratitude embraces complexity. To bless both the triumph and the trial is to live as one who has found peace with the whole of life. For he who praises only the sunlight resents the night, but she who blesses both day and night finds harmony with the eternal rhythm of the universe.

The lesson for us is profound: cultivate gratitude not only for the abundance in your life but also for the voids. What you lack may be protecting you. What you lose may be teaching you. What you never gained may have spared you sorrows unseen. Gratitude that embraces both what is given and what is withheld becomes a fortress for the soul, making it unshaken by fortune’s rise or fall.

Therefore, O listener, in your own days, practice this wisdom. Do not ask only, “Why have I not received this blessing?” but also, “What mercy lies in its absence?” When you give thanks, give thanks for both—the bread that feeds you, and the hunger that drives you; the friend who comforts you, and the solitude that strengthens you; the opportunities granted, and the doors that remain closed. In this way, you will learn to walk with balance, like Gupta, upon the many shades of life.

So let the words of Neena Gupta endure: “I am thankful… for what He has given me and not given me.” For in them is the highest form of wisdom: to see all of life, both its fullness and its emptiness, as a gift. Carry this truth within your heart, and you will find that every shade of existence—whether radiant or dim—becomes part of the masterpiece of your soul.