learning to be grateful – Life, the Universe, and Lani

22 things I’m grateful for in 2022

1 // MUSIC This year I returned to bluegrass, a genre that I fell in love with post-undergrad years while living in the American Southwest. It’s been a beautiful reunion, and I happily discovered what my old favorites were up to now: Chris Thile in Punch Brothers and Sara Watkins in I’m With Her. This…

18/09

What are your little joys?

I try. I really do. After all, there’s no shortage of horrible news that makes you want to suck your thumb, strap on an adult diaper, and lose yourself in a tub of tears and ice cream. Salty! Happy Panda did a ‘Happiness is…’ photo series which is such a good idea. Here’s one of…

01/0501/05

Discover Prompts, Day 30: Grateful

Despite participating in #365grateful for several years, I’d still wake up with an expletive as soon as my alarm went off on certain mornings. A gratitude (or even a mediation) practice is no magic pill, but many of us believe that it’s the Holy Grail to serenity, sanity, and everlasting self-discipline. Yet there are plenty…

12/0716/07

Reflecting on the windows I’ve known and loved

“Desirable views have a hint of mystery. We like to understand and enjoy what is happening around us, and to imagine that if we traveled from where we are into the unknown we would meet with pleasant surprises…” – Psychology Today When we first arrived back to Thailand, the skies were muddy and grey. They…

Green plant patch growing out of concrete

15/0507/02

Starting the #365grateful challenge

You’ve seen these kinds of things before #365grateful, gratitude journals, how to be more grateful articles, etc. And while I think it’s a good idea, especially if the practice is new to you, I’ve refrained from participating publically. But for my 43rd birthday, I’ve decided that the time is right, the timing is now.

02/0302/03

Should you become an expat?

I’m regularly asked about moving to Thailand (and now I’m being asked about Cambodia). There was a point when I was emailed so often I considered creating a standard reply, but in the end laziness reigned supreme. Interestingly, I’ve made friends though these initial inquiries. I’ve met up with a few and one time I…

12/0505/09

(An expat reflects) here versus there…

Returning home to Hawaii after six years abroad felt as natural as diving into the Pacific Ocean. It was salty, sweet and refreshing. It was exhausting and revealing in ways that I had forgotten. And it confirmed my decision to stay outside the borders of the United States, coloring outside the lines, looking from the…

06/0505/09

the urgency of today, going home, gaining perspective

When you go home, regardless how much you think you know a place, there is almost always the unexpected. I was only returning to Hawaii for 2 weeks, what could possibly happen, right?

28/0305/09

I’m going to Hawaii.

I’m going to Hawaii. I’m going to Hawaii!

13/0213/02

Things I’m liking (sharing the love) #3

I don’t know why I don’t do these posts more often. I need to do these types of posts more often. I’m going to do these posts more often.

25/0123/12

✍🏼 How yoga helps my writing

I’ve been practicing yoga for about 12 years. I say this not to impress you, but because I want to establish how long yoga and I have enjoyed a healthy relationship. Of course, by now, you’d think I’d be really bendy and flexible, but I am not. I’m not “advanced”. On the contrary, I feel…

16/0123/12

✍🏼 Why I like blogging

Blogging is like becoming an expat, you get to meet folks from all around the world, but you don’t have to go anywhere! It’s brilliant. Of course, just like traveling, you meet some great and not-so-great folks on the road. Sometimes the connection last only the strength of the holiday and other times something more…

04/1227/01

Things I’m liking (sharing the love) #2

I have to admit. I’m not in the best form. And what I mean by this is I’m overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done.

03/0803/08

What were you like in college?

What were you like in college? Usually high school gets all the attention, but what about those years when you were out of the house and “out on your own”? When all you really had to worry about was beer and noodle money?

19/0607/07

In defense of beauty

Does beauty need to be defended? Yeah, well, if those spectacular concrete jungles are any indication of the direction we are heading, then yes, I believe beauty does need to be defended. I like to joke that in another life, I would have been a city planner because I think we have lost some of…

24/1223/12

🇹🇭 Ten things Thailand has taught me (so far)

Thailand. The football cheer and chant of trapezing travellers. Overrated yet ever popular. An expat port of call, and a backpacker’s paradise for the budget and banana pancake minded. It’s many things to many people, but to me it’s a place that has changed the course of my life, and it’s a place that seems…

17/1112/11

An Expat in Gratitude

The flavor of gratitude tastes stronger here. And I savor every bite of kindness. At first I thought when you pull yourself out of your passport country and decide to live abroad that you’d experience life differently. I couldn’t imagine how you wouldn’t. But then I realized, it doesn’t matter where you put people or…