On Gratitude

Hello friends,

I know it’s popular these days to talk about toxic positivity, and I get it. Shoving aside real problems and masking them with a thin veneer of fake smiles and a “You can do it!” attitude is not only annoying, it can be damaging.

But…

You knew there was a but coming, didn’t you?

But… the world really sucks sometimes. Oppression is rampant. Income inequality is at a staggering high. Climate change has turned into climate disaster, creating upheaval and more refugees and war. We’re still in a pandemic. Diseases that lay dormant for decades are back to say hello. And yeah, incompetence, corruption, and greed are everywhere we turn.

So right now? I could use a little positivity. How about you?

It is said that negative emotions have a stronger impact on our brains than positive emotions. We process them differently. We cling to the harsh criticism and the rejection more than we take in the love and support.

So today, I want to do the opposite. I want to drink in and acknowledge all the love and support I get on a regular basis, including from you. I mean, you read what I put out in the world, for one thing. How amazingly cool is that? And you comment on my social media posts with little hearts and messages of appreciation.

And we all do that for each other, every day.

Yesterday, after reaching another milestone on my finally-almost-finished-Kickstarter, I posted yet another happy dance for my backers. I ended it by holding up the sign in the photo above. It simply says, “Thank you.”

And I mean it. Thank you to you, reading this. Thank you to everyone who has supported my vision over the years, encouraging me forward, as I experimented, made mistakes, succeeded, and also shifted course. And the people who tried to trip me up, tear me down, or laughed when I stumbled? Fuck ‘em. Or better yet, bless them as they go on their own way.

Right now? I want to focus on gratitude and a little extra dose of positivity. And I want to send a breath of that your way. Are you open? Can you receive it?

Here it is:

I appreciate you.

I’ll say it again: I appreciate you. Thank you. You matter in this world.

Wishing you the blessing of one small thing that will make your life better today.

love - Thorn

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