A gushing of gratitude

This is less about bikes and more about thankfulness — though as you know, in my life (and maybe yours?) the two are fairly closely related.

But gosh. There is so much in this world to be grateful for, and these days I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. And I wish for everyone around me to feel the same sort of gratitude for what’s in their lives, and I smile and smile and smile at people trying to spread some of this love before it all builds up inside me and I explode.

(living in the Pacific Northwest with this kind of thing is a big gratitude-giver, for sure:)

I love (really, really love) living in Portland. But what’s really overwhelming me right now is how much I love working with young adults. I love it. And I know that loving my job puts me in a pretty privileged place, that sought-after intersection of what you get paid for and what you think is valuable to spend your life doing. So that’s pretty awesome right there — and though it’s certainly something I’ve worked hard to center my life around, it still feels like I’m getting away with something, that I’ve magicked my way into this life of mine.

I feel so overwhelmingly lucky to work with youth, with all the craziness and frustration and love and pushing and patience that it requires. I am so fricken happy that I get to spend my days outside with youth, even when it’s been pushing 90 degrees for the last forever and by the end of the day we’re parched, tired, scratched, and sore. I’m so, so happy that I’m in a position where I feel like I can give something real, where I can invisibly help people find their winding and sometimes tortured ways through the world, where I can push people’s thoughts and be a role model and make myself a better person while trying to help others be better, too.

There is so much in life: so much that I’ve intentionally tried to include and yet that I still can’t believe I have the good fortune to enjoy. So much.

And when I bike home from work, in the hottest part of the day, straight into the sun for the near-hour and fifteen minutes it takes me, I think about how fricken lucky I am to be on my bike, healthy and strong and vibrant in this world of possibilities.

Do you all feel this lucky ever? Do you feel this need to share and give and laugh and smile? Do you ever feel like you’ll explode from all the pent-up gratitude inside you?

Gosh. I may be a giant sap, but I’m so, so thankful.