Today was Thanksgiving here (ok, it was *technically* yesterday, but I haven’t yet gone to bed, so it’s still “today” as far as I’m concerned), and as hokey and overly sentimental as it seems, it’s never a bad idea to take stock of the things for which I’m thankful. Especially in a world that feels so dire, I’ll welcome the opportunity to think about things that aren’t awful. So, in no particular order, here are some things that are making the world a bit brighter at the moment.
- Ordinary Sausage on YouTube. His videos are absurd and wonderful in my eyes, but he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, admittedly. For example, my mom won’t let me play them when I visit her, because she finds them so annoying. He’s silly, kind of loud, and just incredibly niche, and somehow, videos of a semi-anonymous dude making ridiculous sausages while shouting in a thick Chicago accent, are extremely comforting to me.
- Mastodon. It’s tough to make friends when you’re as introverted and isolated as I am. Social media has been huge for me, and most of the people I do consider friends are people I met online. I left Facebook in 2016, and Twitter in 2022 because both platforms became increasingly toxic and bad for my mental health, but sadly, leaving those places meant leaving behind the only real means I had for connecting with many of those people. Even though I initially joined Mastodon in 2017, I’ve only been active there for about a year now, and with the exception of one person, I’ve interacted with some of the smartest, most interesting, and genuine people there, and I feel like friendships are forming. I feel like I’ve found my people.
- My dishwasher and my clothes dryer. I lived for so long without either of these things, and I learned that dishes and laundry are two of my biggest mental health triggers. Piles of dirty clothes, or a sink full of dishes seriously ramp up my anxiety, to the point of mental paralysis; while I bought a “portable” clothes washer a few years ago, it’s hard to really tackle laundry when your only means of drying it on a rack, so washing my clothes was still a seemingly insurmountable task sometimes. Now, I still have to deal with laundry and dirty dishes, but having appliances that make those tasks manageable is a a luxury I’ll never take for granted again.
- GenZ. I swear, this generation of people is absolutely amazing, and I don’t think they get enough credit. The kids of GenZ are far more aware of what’s going on around them (for good and for bad), and because of that, their world view is so much more expansive than any generation before. They seem less susceptible to arbitrary expectations like gender roles, success defined by productivity, and mindless patriotism. Whenever I think of how absolutely fucked things are, I think about how my niece and her generation are growing up into a force for good. GenZ has so much potential, and I’m consistently wowed by them.
- My cats. This shouldn’t require explanation, because, well…cats. They’re amazing. But my cats are such a source of joy for me. Dexter’s an old man now, with arthritis, a bent ear, and the crooked tail that’s made him look like a bumper car since he was a kitten, but he’s still got more personality than just about any animal I’ve ever met. He’s food-motivated, pushy, and insistent, but also incredibly lovey, adorable, and sweet. Gato is my soul-cat. A 15-lb, fluffy cuddle monster who came into my life at a time when I needed him most. I knew he was my cat from the moment I saw his bottle-brush tail as he sauntered into the room at the shelter. I scooped him up and he immediately started purring, and that sealed the deal. He has great big eyes that make him look like an owl, and he’s as soft as any stuffed animal. He has a heart condition, but it in no way impacts his seemingly endless capacity for love. Even in the darkest parts of my depression over the last few years, these two have been sunshine and rainbows with stinky breath and rumbly purrs.
The world is really rough lately, but every bit of gratitude helps. These are just a tiny handful of the things that fill me gratitude and make me realize that there’s still so much joy and beauty to be had. So with that, I’ll fix myself another plate of Thanksgiving dessert (I’m thankful for dessert, too) and surrender to the feeling of lightness that comes with taking stock of the good things, and the feeling of fullness that comes from another piece of pie. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.