The things that bring me joy.

Tonight, I decided to write about things that bring me joy, to try to focus on what I love, rather than things that might be frustrating me, in the hopes that it might cheer up my sour mood of late.

I love a thunderstorm on a hot summer night — seeing lightning always makes me feel like a kid again. I love the feeling of my bare feet on grass or feeling of rice against my fingers while rinsing it before cooking. I love the smell of spring flower blossoms, or the scent immediately before rainfall. Speaking of rain, I miss getting soaked by warm, torrential rains while on vacation in warmer countries and letting it completely wash over me — getting rained on when you want it to happen is a completely different experience to being wet when you want to stay dry.

I love the way that Studio Ghibli films make me feel — the fantastical imagery combined with a beautiful score is a magical synergy that other movies can’t match. I love the warm wind of a chinook in mid-winter. I love submerging myself in freshwater during the summertime — the ocean is great, but nothing feels better on my skin — nothing more refreshing, than a freshwater lake, river or pond. I love sunrises and sunsets because it’s incredible that we are gifted something so beautiful, and so unique, for absolutely free. I love the simple joy of juggling a soccer ball — that feeling never goes away.

I love getting lost in conversation with my friends — going on endless tangents and finding our way back to make meaningful connections in whatever we are discussing. I love peaceful moments to myself in the early mornings, where I get to watch the sunrise, read my book, have a light stretch, and listen to birdsong. I love going on trips with my friends, probably just because I love waking up next to all my loved ones in the same household, having a lazy morning together, and catching up on last night’s events. I love riding a bicycle, not for exercise or for commuting, but just for fun, because coasting around on two wheels feels liberating and makes me feel good inside.

Speaking of trips, I love the feeling of visiting a new city in a distant country, and that first morning when I wake up at a hostel and go wander the nearby streets to find a coffee and better understand my surroundings. I love being surrounded by dogs — dogs bring me so much joy, I love playing with them, talking to them, holding them, letting them lick my face. I love when I find something so funny in my own head that the laughter takes control and I can’t stop for long enough to explain it to anybody else, which just makes me look ridiculous, and only ends up making me laugh even harder because of how ridiculous I feel I must look to others.

I love long walks — like proper long walks, especially with other people. There’s something about a long, dedicated walk, with another person, with no technology to distract us, where you reach this Zen-level of conversation intwined with movement, and everything else melts away — you’ve reached another plane of existence, pure bliss. I love springtime, it’s my favourite season — specifically the months of March and April. I love Thursdays — Thursday is my favourite day of the week — I feel like Thursday is the springtime of the week. A Thursday night holds so much potential for the upcoming weekend.

My favourite foods are ice cream, breakfast cereal, and peanut butter — or some combination of all three. I’m so fortunate that in the history of the universe, my life managed to occur at the exact same time as peanut butter. When somebody has a peanut allergy, it makes me incredibly sad, because I couldn’t imagine my life without it and I wish that everyone could try it (safely).

I love Maeghan. I love the way that she makes me feel — both about life in general, and about myself. I love understanding her and knowing that she has a deep understanding of me as well. I love our love for each other.

I’m sure there’s plenty more things that I could add to this list, but I think it’s done a good enough job at cheering me up for now. It’s nice to take a moment to remember the many things that make me happy. These things — no matter how small, are what make my life wonderful.