Today is thanksgiving in America.
This is not a holiday I have ever celebrated, however being so close to the United States this year, and having so many more friends, colleagues, and a partner who are American brings thanksgiving closer to my heart & awareness.
Tomorrow morning I leave, bound for Montreal on the Eastern side of Canada. So while many people I care about are spending time with their families and eating pumpkin pie, today for me is spent working, packing, and getting organized for a 4am taxi to the airport.
But, not celebrating thanksgiving doesn’t make me any less thankful.
I am thankful to the city of Victoria, BC for having me as a guest, and for being my home for much of 2019. I’ve ducked in and out, experiencing life in the city, the neighborhoods, and the forests of this magnificent island.
I am thankful for my job, for keeping me on my toes, treating me so well, and always providing me with new opportunities to learn, grow, and develop in a company I truly care about and believe in.
I am thankful for love and kindness. For having an amazing partner in life that I get to be reunited with after a month apart tomorrow, for someone I love dearly to explore life, travel, and the world with.
I am thankful for having such a vast network of kind, caring, and support friends and family who span the globe and are always there for me.
In fact, I have so many things I am thankful for that this list could run on for the rest of the week – and just for having so many things to feel grateful for I am thankful. Earlier this year I started a #100daysofgratitude practice, and I thought for thanksgiving I would share a huge whirlwind of abundant gratitude in the form some of the (many many) other wonderful things I have been thankful for over the course of this year:
✨Cold showers after Bikram ✨ Dancing alone to terrible (and good, and somewhere in between!) music ✨ All the delicious kombucha, every day ✨ blossoming roses on summer evenings ✨ That post-yoga open-hearted blissful feeling ✨ Wonderful friends reaching out from all across the world ✨ Living a life that makes me excited about it every day ✨ Remote working life ✨Melbourne coffees✨ sushi round every corner ✨ awesome workmates ✨ trains that run on time ✨ writing every day & the joy that brings ✨ Travel sized everything ✨ the satisfaction of good suitcase packing ✨ lemon tea ✨ thirty degree days ✨ sunflowers 🌻 ✨ hearing from old friends ✨ early nights in bed ✨realising how many inspirational, world changing people I know, and how many more I am yet to meet ✨ reading beautiful writing ✨ feeling inspired & motivated from thinking about how we can change the world, what I can contribute, and how to find my community again ✨ flat whites (oh how I miss you when I’m gone from Aus/NZ!) ✨ clean & empty apartments ✨ living the minimalist lifestyle and clearing all the junk ✨ journaling every day ✨ aloe vera on sunburnt shoulders ✨feeling loved & appreciated each day by different people (and by myself! Self love 🙌) ✨ the exhilaration of booking Mexican jungle cabins ✨ making the most exciting plans for the year ahead ✨ devouring all the books with every spare moment ✨ how amazing technology is and how I can travel with 100s of amazing books without weighing down my bag (I ♥️ you my Kindle) ✨ when things you buy online actually meet & exceed your expectations✨ daydreams of hammocks and tacos ✨ moving out of plans that no longer fit and feeling the excitement of transitioning into new adventures ✨ the kindness & help of my wonderful brother in moving out of my apartment this morning ✨ long Sunday brunches in the summers sunshine ☀️✨ all the feels (and Mexican anticipation) from watching Coco for the millionth time ✨ lovely messages from dear friends ✨ Almond croissants 🥐 ✨ Puppy snuggles ✨ Australian summers ✨ Spending time with family ✨ Having a story to tell & working on my book ✨ Wonderfully talented tattoo artists ✨ Blossoms & pondering hanami ✨ Yoga, yoga, yoga.. ✨ Long train rides with a good book ✨ Smiles from strangers ✨ Daydreams of handstands in the grass ✨Scorching hot weather ✨ The smell of tomato vines ✨video calling for bridging far-too-wide oceans & long talks with people I adore ✨ devouring bucketloads of blueberries ✨working from home & how awesome the company is ✨the magical powers of chocolate ✨ contemplating trees, flowers, and how intricate and amazing the botanical world around us is ✨having such a wonderful and supportive family ✨ gorgeous tattoos by amazing artists ✨ feeling inspired by my writing process ✨ stockpiling awesome books ✨ iced coffee banana milkshakes ✨ fresh summer berries ✨ honest and vulnerable chats ✨ pursuing the things that matter to me in this world ✨ catnaps & the sound of purring while I work ✨ peanut butter cup ice cream ✨ feeling excited by the work I’m doing ✨ the satisfaction of coding after too much hiatus ✨eating vegetables ✨ taking time to rest & getting my right hours in ✨ feeling grateful every day and all the good that brings to my life ✨ inspiring TED talks and podcasts ✨ reading about people making a difference and being the change in the world ✨ flower gardens ✨ having a suddenly less hectic schedule with more time to relax and refocus before taking off ✨ an unwavering sense of adventure ✨lazy weekends relaxing ✨ fresh blueberries ✨walking in the sunshine ✨ realising how much world there is left to explore ✨ feeling love, and feeling loved ✨ the smell of gum trees ✨ sleeping in late ✨ Sunday mornings spent working from bed ✨countdowns till new adventures ✨ the support and encouragement of amazing people ✨ for fun times hanging with family & friends ✨ the endless and diverse selection of awesome podcasts to be discovered ✨ feelings of achievement & the challenge of learning new skills ✨ the feeling of anticipation to return to yoga in a couple of weeks time & the realisation of how transformative and valuable it is in my life ✨ for all the important conversations with interesting people ✨ the explorers, adventurers & brave friends I love who are out changing the world every day ✨ reading Mary Oliver, Chrissy Anne Martine, Anaïs Nin, Rumi, and all the writers & poets who encourage us to live our wildness and create the world we want to exist in ✨ the hidden powers of incredible storytelling ✨ taking selfies in bed ✨ green salads & fresh fruits every day ✨ focusing on gratitude, love & abundance as the first part of every morning ✨complimenting everyone on the things that make them great ✨ hot weather and living my days in sundresses ✨ summer bbqs & cold wines with fun people ✨ the smell of hot eucalyptus leaves in the summer sun (how Australian is that?) ✨ the music and musicians who bring a soundtrack to each day I live ✨ sushi overloaded with wasabi ✨ learning about the hidden life of trees (Peter wohlleben, look it up!) ✨ blue skies ✨ full moons ✨ dream journaling ✨ listening to birds ✨ knowing I’m heading In the perfect direction to continue and create my ideal life around me ✨ the confidence of knowing what I want ✨