You discover yourself through your choices. One of the things I like
about having my own place is learning more about who I am by looking
around me. My rent is relatively expensive—a much larger chunk of my
budget than it used to be—but for a year, it’s worth it for the
self-discovery.

Today I learned that I love choosing flowers for my parties. I enjoyed
browsing through the bouquets and potted plants at the Dominion
supermarket and at the flower shop on Bloor, both near my apartment. I
was thinking of getting something bright and colorful – to celebrate
spring! – but none of the bouquets particularly struck me as worth the
price. Instead, I bought a pot of Easter lilies, a timely and fragrant
decoration that matches my white glass coffee table and my beige
pillowcases. I love the smell of lilies, although the flowers on the
Easter lily I bought today aren’t nearly as fragrant as the stargazers
I received before.

It may seem like such a frivolous thing. Flowers will wilt, and even
potted plants probably don’t have much chance for survival given my
inexpert thumb. But I like it, and I think other people like that I
like it. I’ve come to appreciate little touches of elegance: the
graceful curves of my water jug, the clever construction of my tea
pot’s built-in tea ball, the clay glazes on the cups I bought from the
Japanese shop near Kensignton Market.

More than that – everything has a story. I don’t buy things so much as
I buy stories and smiles and excuses to reach out… I splurge on
quality ingredients and small gifts for other people. It’s wonderful
to discover that one can live elegantly even on a small budget. I’ll
see about managing my money even better so that I can save and donate
even more and so that I can share more of this abundance with others.

Random Emacs symbol: gnus-article-display-x-face – Command: Look for an X-Face header and display it if present.