Being Grateful

I am sitting on my comfy couch in our warm apartment while it’s good and cold outside at –1°C. I am listening to one of my favorite singers, Josh Groban, sing Christmas songs while fighting off a food coma after a splendid meal. Tigger is on Skype with one of his good friends, a fellow nomad who is currently in Egypt, while they play games online. And suddenly I’m overcome with such an immense feeling of gratitude and joy that I just have to write about the many things I’m grateful for in this moment.

Grateful for great food

  • Tonight during our Thanksgiving dinner, Tigger asked what I was thankful for. I expressed gratitude for having a kitchen so we could have such a great feast. As long-term travelers it’s often these little things that make such a huge difference, especially considering last year we were living on an oasis in Morocco. Tigger’s response was: “I’m thankful for you.” I’m so grateful that I have such an incredible son. He constantly makes me smile, and he is such an incredibly easy kid to live and travel with. He is such an amazing young man, and I learn so much from him.
  • I’m grateful for our life. Not just that we’re alive but for how we live. This is such an incredible lifestyle, and I’m so very thankful for it. I’m thankful that I am in a situation where I live all over the world, and that I can sustain our life by doing things I’m passionate about, things that allow me to maximize the time I can spend with my son.
  • I’m thankful for friends. People who have loved and supported me and in many ways been more like family to me than those I’m related to by blood. I’m grateful for the technology that enables us to stay in touch and be informed about each other’s life, through the ups and the downs.
  • I have a hard time feeling much gratitude for the woman who gave birth to me considering all the pain and suffering I’ve endured because of her. However, there are some things I can thank her for. I appreciate her inability to do much more than boil water. That is what pushed me to learn how to cook, something I ended up loving and that I can share with others. She also was someone who had a bitter distaste for any form of racism or judging people simply because of their religion, gender, orientation, socioeconomic status, etc. She didn’t do much right as a parent, but I’ll give her solid props for that one.
  • I feel gratitude for those moments when I suddenly forget what I was doing or why I came into a room. They provide me with such great entertainment.

Grateful for Tigger

  • I’m so thankful for my French press. It’s nice to be able to enjoy coffee without having to go out and buy it, and more importantly it means I don’t have to drink Nescafé!
  • I’m so happy to finally be in an emotional place where I love the holidays. It really sucked feeling like a mellow version of Scrooge. I’d much rather feel giddy about Christmas decorations and lights, even if Tigger would roll his eyes at me (he can’t roll his eyes; it’s hilarious!).
  • I’m thankful for the incredible produce, meats, and cheeses of Romania. So much flavor!
  • I’m even thankful that it’s –1°C outside. It makes me that much more appreciative of coming into our heated apartment. I know of so many people who don’t have that kind of luxury. We have a fabulous place to live in a town that we love that feels like home.
  • I’m grateful for all those moments in my life that I saw as negative or difficult. I am the man I am today because of them. While I would’ve been more than happy to not have experienced them, I wouldn’t change history if I could. The lessons have been far too poignant.
  • I am so appreciative for those few people in my life who years ago told me I could write and encouraged me to do so. And to those classmates who supported me in ways I didn’t realize until later. Writing has been extremely powerful in my life and has helped me move through a lot of healing. It’s allowed me to express myself in different ways, to share, to reach out, to explore, to support my family, to travel, and to create.

Grateful for travel

And if you made it this far, I’m grateful for you taking the time to read this. Not just this post but the others, too. It’s so lovely knowing that what you’re writing is being seen by someone else, and maybe it’s making them laugh, feel, inspiring them, giving them ideas, etc.

What are you grateful for?

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6 Comments

  1. Just lovely-especially the bit about your Mum; there’s always “some” good in everyone, even when it is hard to accept at times (you’re a big person).

    Oh-and that turkey leg!!!!!!!!!

    I’m grateful for lots of things, even though I forget sometimes; which is why we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving next year!

    Thanks to you and Tigger for making me laugh and cry and think-sometimes in the same post.x

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  2. Living a happy life…having the most loving and supportive Husband….laughter as there were many years that I was not able to laugh….

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  3. Looks like you’ve got yourself to a really great place in life. You really do sound quite content. 🙂 -1C is alright, btw. Winters here in Calgary gets as cold as -30C, so I’d totally be thankful for -1C. 😀

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