Rainy days and infancy.

Tuesday, 13:25pm

It's storming outside. This morning I started my day by stumbling up the copious amount of steps that lead to my university, with the rain pelting down on my friend and I like frozen bullets, as we frantically clung to her flimsy umbrella (which only served to make the cold rain water run down our into sleeves), only to attend a series of lectures that made me wonder why I hadn't just chosen to stay in bed instead. I am currently tired, wet, hungry and cold. Complain much?

But none of that matters. Contrary to my natural inclination, in my 5.5 hours of being awake and experiencing this day, I have taken the time to notice the small, imperfect joys that we tend to overlook. Ironically, as I learned in the first (and only) ten minutes that I attended of my Psychology lecture, an infant appreciates each new texture, sight and smell, however mundane it may seem to us in later life. An infant cannot yet decipher whether this new thing is good or bad, or whether it will serve as a benefit it or not. Because it is simply that: New. A treasure in the midst of what we (arrogantly?) classify as mundane. I am trying to take that approach today.

Today, I delighted in running up those steps with my best friend, laughing and squealing like children. I took pleasure in watching the hot steam escape from the small opening of the plastic cover of my cup of coffee(as I braved the rain once again) and seeing how it mingled with the rain drops and frozen air, only to disappear into the fresh greyness. I was thankful that the sick, sinking feeling didn't appear, even when I had expected it to. I marvelled at the way the clouds looked like green ships in the sky. I truly appreciated spending time with a friend who has lived across the road for a year now, and sharing our fears and failures like they were the most natural thing in the world. It gladdened me to see a somewhat tired but sincere smile reappear after its temporary departure, and the way it lifted my spirits when it did. I felt grateful to wake up this morning feeling entirely at peace once again (even if just for a day). And I will love switching my light off tonight, knowing that I am being held in gracious, faithful and everlasting arms.

For a cynic, I'm pretty optimistic today.