Gratitude FM

Normally I don't have all that much WhatsApp contact with friends on a Monday. But yesterday morning, January 6th, the messages just kept rolling in. For many it was the first working day of 2025. "OMG. Blue Monday is two weeks early." "Ugh, I really can't get into it." "Next year I'm going for an extended hibernation." "I so don't feel like this." "My boss is a jerk." "I feel like hitting X." That kind of uplifting message. Not. And the real Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, is still to come. I foresee a run on daylight lamps, jars of vitamin D, B, C, magnesium. And vodka. Lots of vodka.

But as the day went on, a bit of sun seemed to break through the messages. "Ah, my boss isn't so bad after all, he asked how I was doing." "I do have a nice team, actually." "I just had a pleasant lunch." See. Better. I myself had a wonderfully nice conversation with a fellow trainer I hadn't spoken to in far too long.

Where did that positive switch sit, then? Apparently just in small moments. Of connection and attention. Of being seen and/or heard. In the end that's what we all want, isn't it? Okay, some a bit more than others, but that's another story again. Just a chat. Just checking in. A loving kick up the backside (figuratively, of course!). A compliment. A cup of coffee together. That order of magnitude. It doesn't all have to be so complicated.

Now of course we can sit and wait passively for the outside world to spring into action, but we can turn a few knobs ourselves too. For instance, tuning in to "Gratitude FM." That's what I call it. My favorite station. Just consciously tuning in to what's playing out right in front of you, however small. Wherever you are. The rising sun, for example. Okay, maybe not the best example for now. Or the computer that assists you with handy things. That nice little tune. The bus going by. With all those people in it, all on their way to their destination. Like that, yesterday I suddenly saw 2 bright green rose ringed parakeets (just googled it) in the tree in front of me. They seemed to be cheerfully playing a kind of tag. A dog that found it rather interesting too and went after them to join in. Or to eat them? Anyways. So small. But it instantly made me happy.

Being grateful for what is there. Instead of focusing on what isn't. Or on what should be. And somewhere, you feel the flow coming back then. Even if only for a moment. Gratitude FM. I'm turning it up a little for these days. Will you tune in with me?