I was going to write an introduction about how I'm not really one for gratitude lists and needless sentimentality, but I couldn't do it. I'm trying to develop the ability to be unabashed and genuine in my enthusiasm for things. So I'm writing a happy, if somewhat saccharine list and will allow myself this paragraph of over-explaining to ease the discomfort of doing a new thing.
I am thankful that...
I woke up on the shores of a lake in a warm house on a cold day
There's nowhere I need to be today; sitting and writing this list in my pajamas and slippers is the only thing I have to do
My kintsugi project was a success (post coming soon!)
I was not in too much trouble after blocking my wife from winning Ticket to Ride even though doing so did nothing for my own chances
I got 2.5 years of rowing while in Seattle and will hopefully get to resume it here in Chicago soon
There's a full fridge of tasty goodies to be turned into a feast this afternoon
People like Amir Savat who go out of their way to support their industry peers and hopefuls in a brutal time in tech and games
Eyrus has maintained a positive, supportive culture even while growth mode crunches us all
We live two blocks from the El (folk usage > official usage) and an easy bike to everything you can think of
I managed to immediately procure a functioning bike to take advantage of the awesome biking in Chicago
My cider has not skunked despite the fact I had to leave it on the back porch since there was no room in the inn fridge
People actually read this leaflet! At least six of them!
Jerry remains unverified
My mother-in-law is retiring from a crappy job into plenty of security and an exciting new chapter
I am not currently addicted to a video game (though I'm sure the moment I actually start Hades II that will change...)
Friends and family are all happy, hale, and hearty
The AT Protocol is inspiring a legion of people looking to reinvent the internet as a force for good
We're doing another extended trip to the UK next year punctuated by two weeks in Sicily and Malta
Planning to make some Caribbean/Puerto Rican food soon for all my friends
Scotland qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 26 years (they're not my team but how could you not support this energy?)
We are financially secure enough to weather the inevitable AI bubble pop without too much trouble
For all the clutter, noise, and distractions assaulting my brain I can still find time for deep thought and flow states
We have hosted three overnight guests in three months and people are excited to visit us
My first instinct upon reading my list (assembled in no particular order) was an internal groan at how trite it seems. I'm grateful for friends, family, random things that have gone well for me and mine and that a few good things exist in the world? Where's the insight? The depth of meaning? This is so lame.
It's a hard attitude to overcome. Cynicism is a poison not easily expunged. It takes hold in the murky adolescent years, a seductive path to social clout and the cool new identity you're trying to build for yourself. Your parents are lame, your old hobbies are lame, those guys are cool, everyone respects the mysterious rebel.
Then you're an adult and you come to realize the truth:
Cynicism is a shortcut to the peanut gallery, the place where derision replaces enjoyment and apathy replaces inspiration. It makes you write off adventures before they happen, keeps you from celebrating your wins and truly mourning your losses. It dooms you to a life as the eternal critic, forever keeping you from the sands of the arena.
Too many adults don't make that breakthrough. Too many descend into the torpor of "what's the point?"
For the last several years cynicism has infected the zeitgeist. Finally, we seem to be fighting back. It's small, this shift, and comes at one of the darkest, most turbulent global periods in decades. So it's easy to miss them, the happy warriors who refuse to bend the knee to apathy and derision. The noise and manufactured outrage is still deafening.
I am thankful for every last one of you who has picked up an optimism gun and is out there trying. Whatever your thing is, whatever passion or cause or interest inspires you, you put good energy back into the system that we desperately need right now.
Comic source: xkcd #308