After having written about how grateful i am for tea i was feeling pretty chipper this morning when i woke up, and receiving all your lovely comments throughout the day was the cherry on top. However, my test today it seems has been to not fall victim to road rage.

As i said in last night’s post, i’m house-sitting for some friends on the other side of town. Usually that wouldn’t cause too much of a hassle but seeing as the city is still in a state of total disarray from the earthquakes this past year, i’m finding it pretty difficult to get around in a calm and timely fashion. The roads are constantly being blocked from one day to the next because of repairs and the traffic is jammed up for long stretches at a time as we all try to navigate our way through the orange-coned rabbit warren of a road system, without losing our cool.

Now, i’m not complaining about the repairs, they have to be done, and the ladies and gents who are doing it come rain or shine are absolute gems – they’re our fluoro-vested, hard-hatted angels – but, the peeps on the roads are generally quite impatient and forget to do things like, oooh i dunno, indicate? travel at a decent speed? let me know if you’re gonna change lanes or just stop for no reason? Suffice it to say, my patience was tested today. I have spent more time in the car than i’d ever care to on a day as gloriously sunny as this, but all the while i was thinking about what on earth i could be grateful for in this situation.

And then i looked around me.

I saw a bunch of amazingly talented kids at the corner skate park doing some wicked jumps and tricks on their skateboards, unhinged bikes, scooters and other cool toys that i wish i could look as awesome riding as they did. I saw workmen enjoying a hard-earned break under the shade of a tree. I saw people, just like me, winding down their windows to take it all in, whilst listening to smooth summery sounds and singing along (i only sing when i’m in the car – i often dance then too, which gets me a few weird looks, but hey, gotta enjoy it otherwise….ROAD RAGE!)

This made me think. My most favourite thing in the world is probably sunshine. I am sooooo grateful for sunshine! Sunshine reminds me that we are all sensational beings in a world whose life force comes from the sun. My own spiritual self gets its energy from what Bahá’ís sometimes call the Sun of Truth (aka God), which shines out when i’m connected, just as it does out of others when they are also in touch with their true selves.

Sunshine warms me up inside and out and it makes me smile without me even trying. I look around at nature on a sunny day and everything sparkles, bursting with life and reaching up tall to the sky. I am in my element when basking in the sunshine.

I always refer to my dearest loves as “my sunshine” and their sunshininess always puts a smile on my dial.

And secretly, whenever i get a moment to close my eyes with my face up to the sun, i imagine myself getting charged up and revitalised, just like superman (sshhhhhh)

If i could recall all the summer time concerts, outings, trips, birthdays, weddings, celebrations, lazy moments, quiet times of reflection or anything else, whether with friends, family or by myself, i feel total joy. I am totally, 100% grateful for sunshine. Sunshine, blue skies and the most amazing cloud formations one could ever wish to look upon. Even when traffic is at its worst, if the sun is shining, the trip becomes a moment of total peace.