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Hey there. A note from me: I want to pass along something I wrote over the summer because there are more of us here now, and I think it’s even more applicable now in light of Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Read to the end for a little post-script reflection.

I’m not going to win a Nobel Prize for suggesting that oftentimes, life doesn’t go the way we’d hoped it would. When I left my last reporting job, I’d turned down an offer I was given because it didn’t feel right and because I’d been verbally promised a position elsewhere that I wanted way more. I didn’t end up getting that second job, and I felt hurt and maybe even a little embarrassed. It’s not like I could go crawling back to the first people saying, “Uhm hey…so, I guess you’re good enough for me now.”

(Hindsight gives us the benefit of knowing this was a pivotal moment because it was the first step in my finally mustering up the courage to leave political reporting.) But I wasn’t there yet at that point.

So back to the past. Not too long after that perceived fumble, I read what has now become my favorite book: “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone” by Lori Gottlieb. In it, the author shares a poem that altered my brain chemistry.

It was written in 1987 by a woman whose child had been born with a disability. And while it is written from that perspective, the lesson is also applicable broadly to rolling with life’s punches. I’ll share the whole thing here (thereby technically breaking my 500-word promise; but since these aren’t my words, I don’t think it counts). Read it first, and I’ll meet you on the other side with my final thoughts.

I was allowed to mourn that loss of what could have been, but I was also given the opportunity to explore a different world. I’m buying new guidebooks, and I’m learning a different language, so to speak.

The takeaway here is that perspective makes all the difference. I needed practice with that, so I started writing down three things I was grateful for each morning. I did it for so long that it’s now become a natural habit etched in my brain to notice the small things (seriously). I’m happier now for many reasons, but I think that the effort I put into practicing being grateful is probably the most important one.

Post-script: When I wrote this newsletter over the summer, I didn’t know that I’d be working in a job just a few months later that has made me feel more fulfilled than I’ve ever felt before. I’m confident, happy and I feel like I’m contributing to something greater than myself. I am so confident that this specific gratitude practice has helped me narrow down what I believe is important. And as a bonus, things really did work out. Because it’s not necessarily where I would have expected to end up. But it’s really, really beautiful here in Holland.

Do you have a gratitude practice? Did this poem resonate with you like it did for me? You can find me on IG or just reply to this email. Or if you have any questions, send those, too. Getting your emails is still my favorite part of the week, so please keep them coming 🙂