Abundance

When we got back from our study abroad in college, my friend Danny gave me a copy of the The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. For those who've read it, you know that each verse is enlightened, earthy, and simple in its expression. In one place, he writes, "You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance." In light of the week, and the many things that I lately ask for, I am acknowledging my abundance today.

1. I am grateful that there are people in my life who make me laugh so hard my upper lip starts to sweat.

2. I am grateful to have been loved, a couple of times, and for the way it has carved me.

3. I am grateful for a healthy body that responds when I push it and even thanks me for having asked something of it.

4. I am grateful for caramel popcorn, oreos dipped in milk, and pistachio gelato, and the moments when I can enjoy them without thinking twice.

5. I am grateful that the world is diverse and stunning in its variety, and for any chance I've had to visit parts of it.

6. I am grateful for my memory, which catalogues everything from pointless movie lines to the crisp details of moments I never want to forget.

7. I am grateful that I always have someone to call when I need to cry.

8. I am grateful for the conversations my siblings have when we sit together after dinner and that, at the end of the day, we prefer each other's company above anyone else.

9. I am grateful for things that smell good: perfume from Passion Flower, men that pass me on their bikes wearing cologne, and the candles my sister makes.

10. I am grateful that life isn't without meaning; that it all fits together in the end because Someone has specially designed it that way.

Happy Thanksgiving.