Awesome

I've just read an article on the Mail & Guardian's website about Neil Pasricha, a Canadian who was busy watching his world fall apart around him - his marriage was disintegrating, and his friends were having a pretty rough time as well. He chose to focus on positive things though, and started a blog, http://1000awesomethings.com/ , where each day, he blogs about something, well, awesome. As I write, he's only on #527, but the idea was so popular that 200 of the awesome things have just been published as a book, and he's won a Webby award or two. Out of positive things, come good news...

I'm not nearly dedicated enough to blog every day on a single theme in perpetuity, but I reckon it's a great idea to stop and smell the proverbial roses from time to time. So, here are a few things that I find totally awesome, in no particular order.

1 The smell of my boys when they're sleeping (and the sheer joy of them being awake).
2 The way my husband holds me, loves me and cherishes our life together.
3 The garden at work is inspirational - a tame jungle of indigenous plants around a heritage water feature, complete with chirping frogs and the most exquisite light peeping through the trees.
4 My mother.
5 Our crazy, confused, hectic, beautiful, interesting, challenging, amazing country. There's nowhere else quite like it.
6 The totally unexpected sense of community I feel from being on Twitter, and the lively debates that rage in 140 characters or less. And the unexpected friendships that have arisen from that.
7 The revelation that it's not actually that difficult to make bread, even without using our bread machine. And there's nothing quite like the smell and taste of freshly baked bread.
8 The understanding that sometimes, in the grand scheme of things, it's better just to back off a little.
9 My mentor, who is also one of my closest friends, who I found in an unexpected place, and who continues to inspire me. One day, if she'll let me, I'd like to write her life story. It's a humdinger, involving three of her own children, three other children, Steve Biko, and a lifetime in media.
10 The simple pleasure of driving. Traffic notwithstanding, I think those of us privileged enough to have our own vehicles forget how lucky we are to be so completely independent, that we can go wherever we want to, on a whim.

Without even aspiring to start one of those time-consuming memes, what's awesome in your world? It would be fab if you told me, but I'd be thrilled if you would just stop for a minute to ponder the things that are great in your world. I'm sure just thinking about them will make your day a better one.