I am Thankful; Part II

Yesterday we got the big things out of the way, today is dedicated to the simple pleasures in life that I’m thankful for.

1. Pomegranates! I recently bought a box of 6 HUGE, ripe, juicy pomegranates at Costco and have been eating one a day.  I fill a bowl with all the seeds then sit down and enjoy each seed as it burst in my mouth in a big, juicy explosion.  Just writing this incites a party in my salivary glands.
2. A good book.  There is just nothing better than being transported by words and your imagination on a journey where all the worries and heartaches of life melt away.  When the book ends you feel like you’ve lost your new best friend. 
3. A really good laugh.  The kind where you just belt out the loudest, most undignified laugh ever and you don’t care because it comes from a place deep inside you and nothing can contain it. Where you have tears streaming down your face and your face hurts and your stomach feels like it’s going to implode.  There is no release as good as a good belly laugh. 
4. Smell of the rainforest.  I love hiking through the woods after a rainfall when everything smells so fresh and cleansed.  When the moss below your feet is a little soggy and raindrops rest in puddles on the leaves of plants.  That is serenity.
5. A great sunrise/sunset.  There really is no wonder like watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset.  Where the ultimate creator paints a picture no earthly artist can fully capture.  It rivals only a great display of Northern lights where the colors of the rainbow literally dance across the dark backdrop of the sky with millions of twinkling stars to cheer them on.
6. A great night’s sleep.  Especially when you haven’t had one in a while, nothing can make you feel better.
7. Gardening. Tinkering in my garden is zen time for me.  As I look back through my pictures that bear witness to the evolution of my garden it simply amazes me.  It is such a great creative outlet and to see your yard just burst with color is so rewarding.  In the summer months I walk through my garden area probably 5 times a day and every time I see something I hadn’t noticed before.  I can’t say it always turns out the way I anticipated but it always turns out.
8. Appreciation.  Nothing feels better than truly being appreciated.  Except appreciating someone else.
9. Music.  I get a very visceral reaction when I hear a song that touches me. 
10. A comforting childhood memory.  Sometimes it’s a story about something I had forgotten about or seeing a picture I’ve never seen and sometimes it’s as simple as a smell.  Nasturtiums do it for me, they take me back to being 10 years old in one little sniff. 
11. A rare bird sighting.  We get a lot of birds at our feeders and I love it when one shows up that requires some digging to identify because it is so rare here that it isn’t in the regular bird books. 
12. A hot bath.  Nothing more relaxing and rejuvenating than reading a good book laying in the bathtub!
13. Wildflowers.  I love a mix of lupine and white daisies or a field of fireweed and iris.
14. God whispers.  Those moments when you clearly discern the voice of God speaking to your spirit.
15. Ipods.  With head phone 180’s. On a long wintery walk with the frozen snow glittering like diamonds and crunching underfoot.  A canopy of white above you.  Love that.