Two things that brought the idea of this post to my mind: I turned 23 a couple of days ago, which has led me to do a bit of wondering about what the future will hold/how the last few years have changed who I am. The second is that I've been reminded lately from several sources that thankfulness and generosity seem to truly be the keys to happiness in this life. So, without further ado, here are
23 Things I'm Thankful for at Age 23:
1. Rainy summer days that allow me the time to do just this - read, write, paint... Generally for the opportunities we have in life to reflect.
2. Having many amazing books piled up just waiting to be read.
3. Living with 3 amazingly talented musicians/artists for the summer. Besides getting to enjoy their art, I love one of the side effects of this which is that it's so much easier to kick my butt into creating.
4. Running. And a fixed bicycle.
5. The church on Vancouver Island. There are so many awesome congregations of beautiful people doing their best to live their lives authentically for the glory of God, loving on others, giving generously of their time. I love worshipping with these people. I love that I can call you all my sisters and brothers.
6. Discovering feminism. Learning how to critically review how the world is presented to us.
7. Nuts. Any kind, though walnuts are currently my favourite, especially when paired with chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream... Mmmm!
8. Friends who enjoy talking about how we can improve the impacts we have on this world through the way we live our lives, the attitudes we carry, the things we buy, et cetera.
9. Environmentalists. Personally I'm thankful for the many scientists who research environmental chemistry. I love learning from your work!
10. My family. Close and extended, I love you all so much. I'm so thankful that you all value family just as much or more than I do, too!
11. Friends! Not to be too cliché or anything, but where would any of us be without our friends? I love my friends who are older than me, who remind me that getting older really just means you have had more opportunity to accumulate awesome ;). I love my friends who are younger than me that remind me that even though I've probably had more mistakes to learn from than you, I really don't know anything more than anyone else, and never really will. I love my friends who are right in the middle with me, because we get to figure this out together! And really... I'd just be super lonely without all you guys and gals. My inner voice can never make me laugh as much as any of you!
12. Movies, books, songs, photographs, anything that tells a story which transports you and/or causes you to empathize with another person.
13. The internet. Seriously.
14. A couple of cacti that I have somehow managed not to kill off, even after several years of ownership. I don't know how they're holding on, but just keep living you two!
15. Frequently moving into new houses, as this really helps me to not accumulate too much stuff. I don't like having a lot of stuff.
16. The opportunities I've had so far to explore Canada and some of this world. I want to keep exploring and seeing this beautiful world!
17. Prayer. Not only do we have this infinite, loving, powerful God, but we have an open invitation into conversation with Him!
18. Returning to school this fall for one last year to finish off my Bachelor of Science. I'm super blessed to go to a university where the majority of my classes in my final year will have less than 20 people in them, excellent teachers, really cool fellow students, and I can live so close to campus!
19. God's provision in paying for school, finding a place to live and people to live with every year.
20. A tennis racket that my brother and sister in law just bought me, flowers I'm going to buy from money my sister sent me, and tickets to a live theatre show from my parents. Family, you're so nice to me :) Thanks for celebrating me being born, hehe. ;)
21. Things/people that make me laugh.
22. My two (still nameless) gerbils that I got from the SPCA. And for that matter, I'm thankful for the SPCA - for all the work they do.
23. Getting to spend time outdoors. Specifically getting to live on this gorgeous island. Specifically specifically taking advantage of all the awesome beaches around here. I love the ocean.
