Be grateful!

Hi again amigos! It's been a while!

I've come to believe lately that we, as a society and as individuals, complain WAY too much. I am fortunate enough to have many fascinating, talented, beautiful friends and lovers out there, but FAR too many of them spend more time complaining or fretting, rather than celebrating how awesome they are and how much life kicks ass! You know who you are, my precious drama llamas! I tweeted and facebooked about this over the past couple of days. We all need to stop griping and start being grateful for the blessings we have.

Here’s what you need to remember, every person out there in Interwebsville:

- You are loved
- You aren’t hated by anyone worth knowing. And if they do hate you, they don’t really know you.
- You are far more than the sum of your ailments and stressors.
- Your past need not affect your present or future (thanks, JKL).
- Live in the now as much as possible (thanks, KLV).
- NO ONE is out to get you, so there’s no need for you to worry about the actions of others. Pain is rarely caused on purpose or out of malice.
- The more you fret about how others treat you, the more you’ll attract people to you who prey on insecurity.

Now, enough of me giving the ‘what’s-what’, I want to write about happy stuff!

Today I’m continuing on the descriptive list writing vibe. For your edification, here’s a list of little, simple things that bring joy. Why am I writing such a list? Well, mostly as a reminder to all of us to take the time and appreciate the little things, because they’re what make life tolerable.

August 18 2010

Things that make me (Nick) happy

- The shimmer of leaves on a sunny, windy day. It’s like fish scales or ripples in the water, but completely three-dimensional. It’s probably the most soothing image in the world and it’s a testament to the beauty of chaos as every shimmer is different than the last.

- The look of wonder on the face of a pre-verbal infant when they’re checking out things around them. You could have a super-colorful toy or display, next to a wet paper bag and both would evoke the same wonder form the little one. I imagine the kid thinking “Wow, this is the coolest thing EVER! Oh, wait, THAT is… No, THAT thing is! Ah, my brain’s gonna melt! Oh now I’ve peed myself...”

- The sensation of an icy-cold drink hitting the back of your throat when you’re absolutely wreathed in sweat on a hot muggy day.

- The utter physical surrender of a two-hour power bike ride and the sense of triumph welling inside you as you complete the journey. Your chest heaves, sweat pours off you, and your grin is ear to ear.

- A nice rack… of ribs, of course! (and boobs)

- Being knee deep in powder and way off-piste. It carries an element of danger, obviously, but that’s also part of the joy.

- Getting goose bumps at that perfect moment in a song.

- Seeing an old friend after a long absence and suddenly both of you flashback to some shared moment of sheer hilarity.

- Campfire


I asked my friends Kari and Jes for their input. Jes simply stated “curried split pea soup”. Fair enough!

Here’s what Kari had to contribute:

- staying up all night and watching the sun rise
- watching clouds gather into a storm
- when you're standing there and all of a sudden it hits you... "I am right now." (I have no idea what this means!)
- watching a blizzard from inside a cozy house with something yummy on the stove
- an amazing meal
- baby toes. baby toes make me happy.
- hearing your cats purr in stereo
- being high up somewhere and looking out at the horizon
- watching the stars move across the sky
- a really long hot shower after a week-long camping trip (especially when you catch a whiff of campfire in your hair)
- your own freshly baked bread
- the first leaves in the spring