Bliss 1/3/09

Where are those places where you find pure bliss? Outside? Inside? With others? Alone? I was just thinking about this, because January in Mississippi has always offered up several blissful times. For me, spending time with my family and my good friends is quite blissful. Sometimes, I just like to stare at them! Soaking up enough family and friends in 17 days to last me for 7 months is a bit of a challenge, but I'm doing my best!

There is also something about running errands after the holidays are over but before it's time to go back to work or school. I love the feeling of just being out in the afternoon - especially when it's sunny. For me, it feels like the world has almost returned to normal - but there is nothing especially pressing to do - and the newness of the year just washes over me with the sunlight.

It's really nice.

Thinking about Japan...one of my favorite moments in Japan is when I take the ferry in August or September when it is warm enough to sit outside. I love to stretch out my legs and soak in the morning sun as we travel west, and then gaze at the beauty of the setting sun while we travel east in the evening.

I'm excited to see what moments of bliss the Hokkaido winter will bring! I've been enjoying the winter so far, but there is a difference between enjoying something and experiencing that wave of bliss. Oh, I remember one in particular...the first snowfall! I felt a little bit like a kid on Christmas Day. I can see moments of winter bliss happening on the train, when I can soak in the beauty of the snow without soaking in the snow itself.

What about you? Where are the places where that wave of bliss rolls over you?