Ten Things

[SydTheSkeptic]

Let's face it, life kinda sucks at times.  I'm thinkin' the Buddhists have it right about believing all life begins with suffering.  Hell, if that's true then there's nowhere to go but up, right?

I've been a lucky gal my whole life- good friends, good health, a good job, and relatively little strife other than what I put on myself most times, so yeah- I'm full o' gratitude about that.   I've also had my share of life's tragedies and shit, but ya know what?  If anything has pressed upon me the worth of giving thanks for the good stuff, it's THOSE experiences and what lingers ever after.

So thanks for this continued connection, Arkies.  I'm neglectful around making videos but you guys are as much a part of what makes my life colorful as any other joy in my life.

Happy day of gratitude.

Here are ten things I'm grateful for, in no particular order:

 

1. You guys, and this amazing, life-enhancing medium. I don't think most video-sharers fully realize the larger human story they're a continued part of, but I'm grateful to see it, even though I've been neglectful of that particular joy as of late.

2. My sister Dee and the new path she's taken.  She inspired me to make some necessary changes, as did some vloggers who don't know it (I should tell them, though)

3. TEDtalks and any other venues that don't mention the Kardashians or JerseyShore, and that serve to bring together ideas worth knowing and thinking about for the sake of sustainability and innovation.

4. Whomever started OccupyWallStreet for being, as Howard Zinn would say, that ONE blade of grass (the relentless optimist who stood up against the odds of our collective complicity, apathy, and alienation and turned it around)

5. The pepper-spray cop, who has unwittingly encapsulated what the 99% are up against, and the artists that turn the meme into a catalyst for change

6. My boundless curiosity, the reason I've never felt "bored" <--'tis an alien concept

7. Music that stirs and transports me, and my own capacity to be blissfully lost in the harmonies

 

8. My colleagues and the students I get to work with every day.  They make the sacrifices worth it, which leads to...

 

9. Art therapy, the impetus for finding the elusive line between sacrifice and unnecessary martyrdom and what fuels the engine (and the thing that often brings me back to joys such as video-making).  

 

10.  Solitude- without which, I'd be far from myself.

 

Much gratitude, all.

[Chig]

One thing.

1.  Dog excrement is much smaller and more compact than that of an elephant.

 

Could you imagine a world in which it wasn't?  I shudder at the thought.

[SydTheSkeptic]

Wow, you're right!  I forgot to thank Boodah for not shitting like an elephant.  Thanks Chig!

[BlancheNoE]

...and I'm Thankful for this blog and indoor plumbing.

You guys know I love you. This long strange trip would be much longer and maybe less strange if not for the folks I've met through the interwebs so I guess I'm thankful for Steve Jobs, again, for forcing and furthering availability of personal computers *shakes fist at sky*  " DAMN YOU JOBS !,..I LOVE YOU, YOU GENIUS BASTARD ! "

Bless us, every one.

(Don't get me started on shitting like an elephant. Let's just say, be glad I'm not your dog.)

[SydTheSkeptic]

Blanchie, lol.

 

[Chig]

Only Syd would research Elephant Excrement and feel the need to represent it visually.

Whew, I sure am glad she drew the line with Blanch.... especially since I know that she planted all those spy cameras back in the Code Pinky days.

[SydTheSkeptic]

holy sheesh, Code Pinky, lol

[NatureJunkie]

I was just thinking about Dee yesterday and wondering how she's doing after the major changes in her life this year. You sound hopeful, so I hope that means better things are happening for her.

[NatureJunkie]

I am thankful to have a dog in my life again, and I am thankful to be his humble shit-collecting servant. Okay, and I'm thankful that he's a little dog.

[Marie]

I am thankful for the Ark and all who sail in her. My list has a bunch of other heartwarmy stuff, but since Canadian Thanksgiving was in October I've forgotten the rest. *wink*

 

Re #5:

 

 

 

[ThatGirl]

I'm grateful for you syd.  Isn't it a great stabilizer to be able to make a list of things we're grateful for each day? makes the other crap alot easier to deal with, no matter the size.

..the elephant poo jpg, triggered an instant memory of TREE3 for me. She once reacted to an Isabella rant where she repeatedly called her brother 'elephant poo', with a BIZARRE and graphic video representation that took ME a bit to GET the "brilliance" of...grateful am i, even for elephant poo videos.

To be functioning each day, is at the top of my list...thanks again, Syd