our still alive list

[this photo of palm trees against the sky always makes me feel good]

• I am happy to keep learning
• my family--this includes close friends and pets
• lavender, daffodils, and white orchids 
• how my old raincoat will always smell of campfire
• ​old movies 
• ​strengthening my yoga practice 
• my family
• the way small children think the world works
• my dear friends
• dancing to really loud music
• a book, well-worn or completely new, the nervousness before reading it, the hole in your chest when you have finished it.
• that I’ve given my life to art
• moss
• my dog
  
• moments of being treated with kindness and gentleness by people who care about your well-being
• the upbeat rythm of the city, with its skyscrapers and its anonymity and its million possibilities
• oceans, particularly watching waves crash
  
• the tranquility of the countryside, with its tall-as-buildings pine trees and its endless variety of sky colors and the security that knowing everyone provides
• the impulse to notify my fiance whenever I pass a cute dog
• reading by candlelight while wrapped in a cozy blanket
• going to Pride festivals and seeing all the joyful people celebrating queerness and the little kids that are growing up in that atmosphere of joy and realizing it is clear evidence that the world is always getting better
• coffee in the morning
  
• I used to be afraid of death because of what it would mean for me, my memories, my soul, that sort of thing. But now I simply long for more time with this world I've grown to love. The rich frequency of every living thing makes me so happy to be alive, and keeps me alive!