Simple appreciation, simple joys

We had a very friendly send off by the hotel staff! The boys were still down with mild diarrhoea so we took it easy and went at a slow pace to Nagoya today. The elevation was in our favour and the grey weather held!

During lunch at Sukiya, a type of beef bowl, and also for the last two days, the girls were ordering twice as much as the boys. It was funny because almost all the waitresses wanted to serve the bigger orders to the boys before we tell them its ours,

One of the things that we have come to appreciate this trip are the convenience stores along the way. These common, unremarkable shops have supported us in more ways than one. They serve as a rest stop for replenishment and refuelling, they allow us a place to rest and use the washroom and they are also a distance marker that when passed, tells us that we have moved forwards from our last spot.

Without them, our trip would be twice as gruelling and three times more difficult to complete. Perhaps, these common and apparently insignificant things, serve society in more ways than they are given credit for. Many things we take for granted are simply because they are just there. And in taking things for granted, perhaps we lose sight of the small ways that we can live happily. Expectation is always the nemesis to joy.

Perhaps a simple appreciation is all that is required to spark joy in our daily life.

Michelle Yang