WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE

Let’s Show Gratitude in the World

The ABC of things I’m grateful for in life

There is too much hate and crime going on in life. And even though disaster and tragedy are what sells in our society I’d like to encourage you to share more positivity in life.

In the end, it’s what keeps us a life.

Happiness and joy.

So here is the alphabet of things I’m grateful for in life.

My ABC of gratitude

A is for air. — Fresh air. Clear air. Air that is good to breathe in. While I did grow up in a part of the world where air pollution wasn’t a big problem, in my time of traveling the world I’ve learned what bad air means.

I’ve been wearing face masks before the pandemic made them a product of gold. Living for almost a year in the Bay of Bangkok I’ve experienced the bad air you could see. No, that wasn’t a beautiful morning haze. That is pollution. As simple as that. So, yes I learned to appreciate clean air.

B is for backpack. — I’ve traveled a huge part of Africa with nothing but a backpack. I’ve explored several countries as a female solo traveler and the only comfort in life was having my backpack and all the things I carried in it.

I’ve done two big multiple-day hikes in the Alps with the exact same backpack. I love being a backpacker and would love to go on another adventure with it.

C is for cheese. — I love meat. A lot. I can eat meat everyday but what I learned living in Africa for years is that I can live without meat but not without cheese. I love cheese. I can put cheese on every dish.

D is for discipline. — Yes, it’s part of growing up in a disciplined country such as Germany but it is also part of the strict upbringing of my parents. Discipline stretches into many areas in life and being honest, in time, and true to yourself are all characteristics I connect with the word discipline.

E is for electronics. — Mainly my tablet, but the letter “t” was taken already, so here I sum it up with electronics. The tablet is where I type every day. I capture my thoughts when I wake up in the morning and wrap up my days before going to sleep with a few more sentences.

I write on holidays, in a hammock, on the beach, or in the mountains. I love writing. It’s a passion of mine. And to be able to do so I need my tablet. I don’t have a laptop, I share one with my husband.

Being somewhat modern nomads we try to keep our own belongings as little as possible. That includes the electronics. And for me, it’s actually just my tablet. I don’t really need or use my phone. My tablet is my life.

F is for family and friends. — What else to say about that? I am grateful for the family I am born into and for the one, I married into. I am grateful for all the friends I have. For those back home and those who create a home away from home anywhere in the world. I have friends spread across the globe and I am grateful for it.

Talking about friends also includes my husband. He’s my best friend I am lucky to be able to spend 24/7 together. We have the same passions in life which makes it so much easier to travel around and find similar souls.

G is for gratitude. — Being grateful for my life. For my parents who raised me into the independent woman, I am today. For the chances this upbringing allowed me and for the challenges, I took on in life. I am grateful for all the adventures I went on and for my husband whom I met on one of them.

I chose gratitude within this gratitude challenge just to remind myself and others to be more often grateful for those things we have. It’s easy to complain about what we don’t have or have lost but just appreciate those things you have. For as long as possible.

H is for hiking. — Yes, I love hiking. A lot. I grew up learning to walk in the mountains and hiked more miles as a toddler than an adult. But I’m catching up. After a short phase in my life as a teenager where I thought hiking is the most boring activity one can do, I found back the love of hiking and I’m so happy about it.

I is for islands. — I love islands. I love beaches. I love cliffs. I love sand. And of course the ocean. While I don’t spend any more vacations lying on the beach all day long sun-tanning for 14 days straight, I now prefer to be active in and on the water. I love exploring various coastlines and hidden islands off the coast.

J is for joy. — I wanted to say juice because I love drinking juice, a lot. But joy is a better one to be grateful for. I appreciate all things in life that bring me joy.

K is for kindness. — I love sharing and receiving kindness. I’ve experienced so much kindness from total strangers all around the world that I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this.

As much bad as there is in our world out there, please don’t give up on believing in the good in people. Without kind humans and the kindness these people share in the world, our globe wouldn’t be standing anymore. So cheers to kindness.

L is for laughing. — I love smiling and laughing. It’s healthy. And nothing is more contagious than a smile coming from your heart. Smiles can be shared through barriers and via video call. The sound of a laughing human will make most people smile—at least a little. Try to laugh more often and make people laugh.

M is for mountains. — Let’s get back to the topic of hiking. Hiking wouldn’t be as fun without all those spectacular mountains around the world. Some are covered in rainforest, some are barren and dry. Mountains can be covered in lush green grass or red shining roses. Mountains can be made of sand or of stone. Whatever it is, I love being in the mountains. And one day, I’d love to settle in the mountains.

N is for nature. — Not just mountains but all nature that is found on earth. Sand and the sea. Mountains and valley. Flatlands and highlands. Forests and meadows. Lush green grasslands and sandy deserts.

All landscapes to be found in nature are spectacular and to be loved. And not to forget are animals. All wildlife home to our natural environments on earth is a miracle in itself.

O is for olives. — Maybe a bit weird but I do love olives while I hated them as children. If olives wouldn’t be so expensive in most parts of the world, I’d eat them daily.

P is for photography. — And my camera. Those two go together like copy and paste. I have a passion for photography and therefore my camera is the most precious and valuable item I own.

I take my camera to the skies and the mountains. I take it on hikes and when I go for a paddle. I go for photography walks and produce countless photo essays from memory cards filled with my own images.

Q is for quotes. — I love quotes. I’ve created my own book filled with quotes before I started to write for real. But now, I love quotes more than ever. They express my feelings in a way I couldn’t have put better into words. Quotes finish off my articles and add a little bit of extra to every written piece.

R is for rain. — Rain is maybe the most hated and loved weather feature at the same time. While one-half of the world gets too much of it at once, the rest never gets enough to kill their thirst.

Having lived for several years in the desert in Namibia I have learned what it means to experience a severe drought but mostly I have learned to appreciate every rainy day we get. Without rain, there’s no life on earth. So for sure, I’ll go dance in the rain and jump for joy when I see a rainbow in the sky.

S is for sports. — It’s always been like that and I hope it will never change. I love sports. All kinds of sports. Over a time period of 30 years I’ve done sports like swimming, handball, volleyball, badminton, paddle boarding, hiking, water skiing and wakeboarding, snowboarding, and sandboarding, climbing indoors and on the rock, skydiving, snorkeling, and scuba diving, and…

Some of them I’ve done more intensively, some semi-professional, others just once in a while. But what they all combine is that they make me happy. Being active is good for my body and soul.

T is for travel. — Of course. What else should I say? I’m a passionate traveler. You all know that. And while I have seen some parts of the world already, I can’t wait to see more of it.

I love traveling, exploring foreign countries, and getting to know different cultures. Traveling has taught me so much more than I learned in school and I am grateful for it.

U is for us. — I am talking about my husband and me. I am grateful for being such an awesome team. At work and at home. We travel together and explore the world with different eyes yet still together. As different as we are, we are still so similar.

V is for vacations. — Because one letter for the activity of traveling isn’t enough. Just to make a point of it. I love vacations. Short and long ones.

W is for water. — Any water. Freshwater. Saltwater. Rivers, lakes, and oceans. I love water and more than that, I love being active in and on the water.

I’ve learned many activities in and on the water and love having a lake, river, or ocean close to where I live. My latest passion for paddleboarding lets me explore rough and calm waters in cold and warm environments.

X is for xylophone. — I’ll take that one for representing music. Music is such a beautiful thing. It brings people together, it calms you, it can lift your mood, or simply bring a smile to your face. And a xylophone is a simple instrument even a child can make music on and create smiles on other people’s faces.

Y is for you. — My readers. You’re the reason why I'm here. You’re the reason why I write. You’re the reason why I pick up the pen (or my tablet) and start typing every day. I am grateful for every single reader I have out there but especially for those loyal ones who read every single article of mine and also stop to leave a comment or lovely reply behind. Thank you.

But I’m sorry, I lied. Y is obviously for the color yellow. Yellow is not only my favorite color but my life. I love yellow sunshine, sunflowers, and cheese. I did mention that already. Did you get it?

I am yellow.

Z is for zebra. — Representing all wildlife on earth. Yes, I do love zebras. Especially on the wild open plains of Namibia. But just like all other wildlife. It’s a joy being able to see them in nature and I sure hope many more generations will be able to witness this part of life on earth.

This is my response to the writing prompt created by Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles: “Get Rich Quick, Count Your Blessings!” She has invited everyone to create their own ABC of gratitude listing things.

Here are others who have joined since:

Klara Jane Holloway with “Let The ABC’s Show How Grateful My Life Can Be”

Adrienne Beaumont with “The ABCs of Gratitude”

The Sturg with “Gratitude Challenge A-Z”

Blogs by J with “Gratitude Challenge A-Z”

Shirley Laffa with “A to Zs of Gratitude”

Sally Prag with “Never. Stop. Feeling. Grateful.”

Thank you for this inspiring prompt and I invite you to join the fun.

| Erika | Jillian | JoAnn | Jeanine | Melissa | pockett | Kris | Kristina | Barb | Tim | B.R. | Linda | Elvie | Gurpreet | Pene | Sam | Lane | Darren | Rhonda |

And here are more stories about me and my life:

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