This is my favorite email I’ve ever sent you
Oh, hi friends!
No email yesterday because, well, it got away from me. Um, is this a busy week for you, too? LOL. But I’ve found missing one day of most habits isn’t a problem, so long as you get back on the proverbial horse the next day. So here I am, a little guilty, but moving forward.
On Monday, I asked everyone what they were thankful for right now. Big, small, I wanted to hear them all. Your responses were extraordinary. Here they are. I promise you they are worth reading. Probably more than once.
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I am thankful for my health, my wonderful boyfriend, my cats and knowing where I want to go professionally. —Luiza, Curitiba, Brazil
Right now I’m thankful for my new glasses!
Every morning, my husband makes fantastic coffee and brings it to me in bed. It’s a wonderful way to wake up. It gives us a few moments to sip and chat before our days begin. I’m thankful for that. —Carol Pavlik, Elmhurst, Illinois
When I visit churches while traveling, I always light a candle for my mom. I used to think it was because it was my way of praying for her and my dad, as the kind of last religious tradition I’ve kept from my upbringing. This year when I was in Assisi (a religious sight people of all faiths regularly make the pilgrimage to), I realized I am lighting them for her, since she can’t travel or ever see these churches that she would love. That little flame is her at that altar, in front of a fresco or the remains of a saint. That candle is her traveling with me. I’m really thankful I can light them for her, that she can travel in even the smallest way, and that however ironic, her raising me has helped form my love of journey.
I am thankful for the proximity of coffee shops on my commute to work. I'm caffeinated + ready for this short workweek. —Morgan, Chicago
Right now I am so thankful for my niece, who was born weighing 1.3 pounds and is now 13 pounds at 7 months old. Her determination and grace reminds me that life is worth fighting for!
I’m thankful to live in a time where anything is possible. That has kept me chugging along on a project I’m hoping to launch this spring.
I’m grateful that Christ died for me and rose again.
I'm thankful for the ability of scent to make an otherwise unpleasant or dull time seem much more promising. It's Monday morning and I was just about to sit down to start working when I remembered that my candle burned out last night and it was time to light a new one. The thrill of starting something new and the smells of spiced gingerbread are now making my morning that much nicer. —Kasey Stricklin, Arlington, Virginia
I’m thankful to be celebrating my first stroke-aversary on November 27. Thought it’s been a hard year of recovery, I would sooner have this than the alternative.
Working from home.
I’m thankful for hikes with my son. We just went on a great one yesterday and spent the whole time talking about ancient cities we’d travel through time to visit. All with the backdrop of the Superstition Mountains. —Dom, Mesa, Arizona
My new puppy!
Today, I am thankful for the technology that lets me keep in touch and learn new things on the way to work... and control notifications so I'm not overwhelmed! —Verna, New Jersey
I'm thankful right now for my current calmness. If it lasts, it might save my life.
Right now, I'm thankful that the rain/snow has subsided (we have had a miserable three weeks), and lately Toronto has been having the most beautiful pink and orange sunrises. A few consecutive days of this has made waking up and getting the day started a joy. —Rebecca, Toronto, Canada
Jessica Graham and the East Side Mindfulness Collective, my meditation practice and study group here in Los Angeles.
I am thankful that I get to talk to my son today! (After an intervention and 3 month program at wilderness camp, I will get to see him graduate next week! I am so thankful he is safe, healthy and moving forward.) I couldn’t ask for a greater gift than that as a mother.
I am grateful that we chose to live near our families because both of our almost 3-year-old nephews know us well enough to recognize us, remember our names, and come running when they see us. They are the lights of my life and this time is priceless.
I'm thankful for my friend who just offered to buy me carving tools because they know that otherwise, I'd never set aside time to pursue a personal project!
I am thankful for friends with whom you can pick up just where you left off, regardless of time passed.
I’m thankful for friends who introduce you to **their** friends! That’s been my primary way of meeting people since moving to New York, and at recent Friendsgiving, we got a big group of ladies together and had the most fun time explaining how we all knew each other and who introduced us first to whom. It felt like being part of a big, gorgeous extended family. —Delia, New York
I’m thankful for this newsletter keeping me in check!
Right now I'm thankful for books on sale in the Kindle Store, especially ones that have been on my "To Be Read" list all year. —Allison, Atlanta, Georgia
Picking one thing is hard, but right now I am, and will always be, thankful for the three transforming and transcendent albums that Nick Drake created in his brief life. —Richard Bruno, Manhattan
I’m thankful for NPR, specifically Morning Edition. David, Steve, Noel and Rachel are ready for me every AM; I feel like they’re good friends. —Sara, Anchorage, Alaska
My girlfriend's mum and the fact that she lives closer to us for the first time since we've been together! Looking forward to a little immigrant / orphan Thanksgiving this year.
I've been so thankful lately for public transportation, especially the bus. It makes me feel like a kid to look out the window and think. (Plus, I'm grateful for the interesting scenery to take in!) I'm also grateful for getting something I wanted, but I realize now I didn't grasp what it was until I had it. (I obviously didn't watch enough cartoons as a kid to get this lesson earlier!) Still, gratitude overpowers the less fruitful emotions that I can have and reminds me that it's okay to feel thankful—and a lot of other things—for what you do for yourself. This is in reference to a fellowship I received to teach in a small town, and why I'm sending this letter as...Hannah in Slovakia
Re: Self: Thankful for going freelance this past year and having more freedom, flexibility, indulgence, and sanity in my life (albeit less money). Re: Others: SO thankful both my parents are still with me. —Amy, Brooklyn
Poets Corner at Saint John the Divine. I fall for a different quote every time I’m there! This week’s favorite: “For a second you see, and seeing the secret, you are the secret.” Eugene O’Neill —Elena, New York
I’m thankful for The Ball Project.
I am thankful for my healthy family. We seem to know so many people touched by cancer these days, I’m just feeling really thankful and blessed.
This year I’m grateful for all the support — physical, emotional and otherwise!—that I received in response to my cockle biz. It was especially humbling to receive so many surprise visitors on site each week—including those I hadn't heard from or spoken to in a while, and even those who don’t live nearby or even in the state! I know Summer Saturdays are tough, and with only 10 weeks to choose from it can be hard to plan, but each familiar face was a real boon to my spirits. Also, my sister threw me a birthday flashmob so I’m pretty thankful for her, her overall thoughtfulness and all those who participated because HOLY EPIC.
I am thankful for my home office, which is a privilege and a serious work-enhancer for this remote employee. I am also thankful to the New Yorker's Instagram account for exposing me to the photographer Jayanta Roy, two of whose prints I now have in my office, inspiring me to creative accomplishment and beauty.
Thankful that my kid is sleeping right now!
It’s the first of a couple of days of appointments for me at the Mayo Clinic and initial opinions show that the tumor on my brain stem is “stable.” For that, I am grateful.
Today, I am thankful to be surrounded by genuine people. I not only love my friends and family, but I admire and respect them so much. They carry so much kindness and eagerness to do good within themselves. Reading the news, it is easy to become discouraged or believe that hate is all around us, but they remind me how beautiful life is and I'm fortunate to have them.
I'm thankful for cookies and Cookie Monster.
I can't say I’ve made it / But I’d never trade it
Oh, look! Lin-Manuel Miranda teamed up with John Kander (composer of Cabaret) for this little love letter/MASH note to New York called “Cheering for Me Now”
*deep sigh*
Yes, this is satisfying. I am thankful.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara