Some days you feel on a total high. You feel like a whole world is behind you, lifting you up, and that you could never fall.

Honestly, I wanted to write about something else, but I felt if I did not put this down on paper (silicon), that I'd forget it.

I'm in one of those moods where I feel totally envelopped in a presence. My soul feels its worth and no one can destroy that feeling.

Normally, music helps me to bring about those sort of moods, but it wasn't that this time. I finished watching a great movie and got some letters in the mail.

The movie is about a group of British Olympic runners in the 1920's. It shows vividly their different dreams and struggles in obtaining their Olympic medals. I really admired one of the runners who ran with such great pleasure. He had a really uncanny joy when he ran. His head would tilt back and a grin would beam across his face as he ran. One of the other runners was mainly focused on winning and had trouble with contentment. I think he really envied the first runner for his joy and his speed.

I just feel a really similar joy to the first runner. It's not an "I'm on top-of-the-world" feeling or the "I'm the king of the world" feeling. It's quiet, humble assurance that feels really peaceful.

Then there are the letters. One of them is actually a late Christmas card and the other is really a letter. A card says a lot to a person and it brings such joy with it. Especially for a guy like me, so far away from home. Then the letter was recounting a friend's travels. He really got around by the looks of it. He even went to Vancouver for a little while. He mentioned the SkyTrain and the SeaBus. That was cool. His letter just shone with joy too. He was just finishing up his MBA and was looking forward to his holidays with his wife.

I just really wanted to share this with all of you because sometimes we forget the good moments and focus on the bad ones. I'm really happy to be in China teaching in this university. The students are fun and jovial. The city is wonderfully laid back and small. The food has simply been scrumptious (welcome to Hot Pot Heaven). I'm really grateful for this feeling.