What is the best thing you know?

London-Stockholm, Dec 2013

That is a question I was asked here by a reader, and I made it a challenge to write about it. Well, there are many things and situations and people that I like, and after giving it some thought I realised it is a much harder question to answer than I thought!

My family and everyone I count as family, my friends and people who have past my path and stayed with me are all obviously important to me, I love them all. But to answer the question with something like "my nieces and nephews" doesn't really seem that ground breaking. They are always a fundamental part of me and I'd like my answer to offer something more specific, a response more significant to me. I think it's safe to say; a lot of people love their families(!)

So, what are some of my favourite things? They are small and big. I love to take long showers, I enjoy drinking my coffee in take-out mugs whilst on the move, I find it fascinating to visit new places and I can lose track of time when immersed in an exciting book. 

Maps intrigue me, big world maps which put things in perspective. I'm also blown away by my dreams, the ones I actually remember when I wake up, how vivid they are and sometimes makes me question what's really real and what parts were just a dream. I've had to phone up people to ask if certain things have truly occurred or not! 

But alongside all of this, there is one thing, a certain situation that always puts a smile on my face, literally. Where I, without doing anything in particular, always burst into a big smile, a grin on my face, and feel all tingly and bubbly and warm inside. It's when I'm travelling and looking out of the window whilst actually being transported by a vehicle, e.g. sitting in an airplane or a high-speed train, or even a car on a motorway, and looking out of the window into a clear blue sky with bright sunshine. That energy, the invigorating light and the sense of being on my way onto something new, it always gets to me! It’s such a positive feeling, as if the sun welcomes me and says, “hi, this is your day, the blue sky is your ocean and you can do anything you like!”. When on the ground, I imagine the lives and stories behind the people and buildings I pass, one scenario links to another and in my head there is a full saga of possible realities which I continue to move through, one onto the next one. And all the time I think of new things I would like to do in my own life. My brain works on turbo speed in pace with the train which speeds through the landscapes. Some days I get to work, open my iPhone notes and scribble down all those immediate thoughts for later reflections, and then other days I simply take the time to enjoy the rush, leaning my head against the glass and allow myself to get lost in that refreshing energetic charge that is sun, speed and travel in symbiosis.

Now, what is the best thing YOU know?