I’m grateful for parties 

and art shows 

and customers 

and custom orders 

and unexpected engagements 

and the universe off the chain doing things behind the scenes in my face. 

I am also grateful for knowing that if I start to go down a dark path I don’t have to keep going down a dark path. 

Why? I’ll tell you?! I have learned a new way. 

And for that I am grateful beyond measure. 

If I’m standing on the top of a hill in San Francisco and my car begins to roll towards me it’s a lot easier to stop it than if I’m at the bottom of that hill. 

And I used to not know that. 

But I know it now. 

So when I wake up and it’s hard to get out of bed I get up and I get out of bed and what do I do?

 I dance! 

I have two playlists from the 60s and ’70s with Aretha and Lou Rawls and Simon and Garfunkel and The Young Rascals and let me just tell you friends 

it works 

it’s a great antidepressant

and then when I share it, it makes it even more powerful because I know other people get joy from my joy 

and that’s a good infection I’ll tell you that. 

If this is a hard day for you do not shame yourself for that. 

It doesn’t help and whatever it was that created you to begin with 

would never do that to you 

so please don’t do it to yourself. 

I’m grateful that I finally stopped doing that 

and that is time 

but not for the whole day 

just these two minutes

 and the rest of the two minutes between now and bedtime are some I’m going to really look forward to 

and say thank you in advance to the universe for whatever is in store.