Thursday, August 23, 2018

Half Full

People are being handed some heavy life stuff right now. That's true always, but this moment seems especially heavy-ish. So now, it's time to celebrate. Not the heavy stuff, the other stuff. Let's celebrate anything we can find, big things and not at all big things. You don't have to throw a party, just stop and recognize a good thing when it happens. (Or throw a party, if you want. I'm not stopping you.) What I'm talking about is a celebration that looks like inhaling deeply and taking a mental picture to revisit later when you're in need. Stuff like:

A lizard on the front steps doing that weird pushups thing lizards do.

The view of the moon unobstructed by clouds.

You stop the gas pump on an exact, even number.

Watermelon is still in season.

You slept in your favorite pajamas.

A driver in the next car is singing along to Foghat's Slow Ride.

An Irish wolfhound mix watching you from his living room window.

The library book you have on hold comes in.

A bath towel, warm out of the dryer.

You get the idea.


  1. Yeah, a gratitude list.
    It's starts with one thing.

  2. The sound the coffee maker makes when the coffee is done.

  3. hokgardner@gmail.comAugust 24, 2018 at 9:22 AM

    90 days in a row of getting up and going out running. That little bit of breathing in and breathing out while my dog's ears flap in the wind in front of me, makes me more able to handle whatever heaviness lies ahead.

  4. Discovering that my tomato plant is going to survive after all.

  5. Thank you for this. I have had some pretty crappy things going on in my life. This reminds me to think of the positive.

  6. Our lizard's name is Spike, whenever I walk out onto the porch I say "oh, hi Spike", sometimes Spike is really little, other times he's pretty big. Spikes cool like that and he always makes me smile. I wonder what the neighbors think sometimes, but the smile is worth it. xoxo