I’m grateful for winter weather. I’m grateful for a fire in the fireplace. I’m grateful for little epiphanies. I’m grateful for the calm and ease and peace in my heart. I’m grateful for Sunday mornings. I’m grateful for coffee. I’m grateful to be sober today.
Happy Sunday—we’re going to try something a little different on Sundays, it’s preliminarily being called something modest and silly:
The Sunday Gratitude List Extravaganza
Hopefully this will prompt some (or all of you!!!) to get into the act! We’re going to open up a discussion thread and I am going to personally urge you to post your own gratitude list. It doesn’t have to be long, it can be entirely trivial and silly even; as long it’s something you’re actually grateful for, well, you get no guff from me.
There are some intermediate steps, but it’s Sunday and what better time for a little project.1 Here’s what to do:
Download and install the Substack App. This is a great thing to do by itself. I don’t mean to hype the competition, but there is a ton of great writing here on just about any topic you could imagine. Also, this looks so much better on the app than in your email—trust me on this. So, Step 1, download the app:
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside. Step 2: Open the Chat!
Fill your heart with love and gratitude and write your gratitude list!2 Step 3: Write the List
Re-fill your coffee, feel very good about what you’ve done, sit back and await total consciousness and harmony with the Universe. Step 4: Await the arrival of Inner Peace and Contentment.
While you’re waiting for the bliss of complete alignment with the Universe and the God of your understanding, you should read these two pieces, because I thought both were fantastic. I love what Matt Andersen writes in The Spittoon, he was also a fantastic guest on Breakfast with an Alcoholic No. 18— you should definitely check out his latest, “The Haunting of Connecticut:”
Also, I’m a big fan of Release and Gather by Holly Rabalais. She writes some amazing, revelatory stuff, like this piece, “Weight Limit Exceeded:”
Ok, I did my part, I can’t wait to see all of those gratitude lists!!!!! Jane has the conn tomorrow morning and I will see you Tuesday!
Thanks for Letting Me Share
Will I find it somewhat deflating if none of you post gratitude lists? Yes.
Is it fair to use this kind of peer pressure and guilt to get you to share a gratitude list? In this case, yes.
Thanks for the mention, and while I try to stay out of the chats I will make an exception for you. But only because you guilted me into it...😂
You know how much I appreciate you dipping your oars in this sordid sea!!!!’