Thursday, May 31, 2012

Day 13: Gratitude

The sky turned ominously gray just as I was getting back into the building where I live. The weather can be like that in Sweden, unpredictable, changeable. So I was so happy to get in a walk during the brief period of sunshine this afternoon.

Not much on the agenda today. Not even a to-do list. Felt somewhat at loose ends with nothing to do. Somewhere along the way, however, a feeling of deep gratitude gradually swept over me as I was sitting on the living room sofa, snacking on chips and watching an episode of House via air video. On a dreary day like today, how fabulous to have a roof over my head; no, not just a roof, a rather lovely apartment on the ground floor with access to our garden directly from my kitchen. The fridge has food. The closets clothes. There are shelves filled with books, read and waiting to be read. Hot and cold running water. And a dishwasher! (I love my dishwasher...running it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction. OK, I'm a nerd, I admit it!) I have the luxury of a do-nothing day. Of not having to worry about where my next meal is coming from, or when...or IF for that matter.

Then there are the people in my life, both near and far. Close friends and more distant acquaintances. Family, both biological and adopted. The upside to how much smaller the world has gotten with air transport is the ability to travel, meet new people, visit old friends and family. And the internet has made it so much easier to maintain contact. The downside is that you cannot have all the people you care most deeply about in one geographical area. Sometimes, I think that would be so nice. But then I would lose the opportunity to travel and experience their lives in their environments.

So today's happy is all about gratitude. It's about seeing the glass not half-empty, but full. It's the happy within while looking at the rain outside.

The view through my kitchen window

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