Postcard: Gratitude
No. 021 - on what you pay attention to.
Postcard is a weekly curation of things I think are beautiful or interesting. Each postcard will be named after a word and contain something to listen to, something to look at, and something to think about. I welcome you to share any thoughts in the comments. Thank you!
gratitude:
(n.) The state of being grateful.
†Meanings from Wiktionary
Something to listen to:
“C’Era Una Volta Il West” - Once Upon a Time in the West by Ennio Morricone
I watched Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West with my dad a few months ago, greatly enjoying the strikingly beautiful cinematography, the life-or-death drama of survival in the frontier, and the captivating performances by its stars. But more than anything else, Ennio Morricone’s score stuck with me long after the movie ended.
My cat Eleanor, a fiesty, free-spirited tuxedo and true American sweetheart, passed away on August 20. The day after her death, I found myself driving up a winding, privately-maintained road in the backcountry of Morgan Hill, dust flaring as I drove over gravel. I was listening to this song, and thinking of her with tears in my eyes.
More than a handful of the YouTube comments mention this song being played at their dad’s funeral. Isn’t that beautiful, how a song can bring people together across time, space, and even life or death?
Great music inspires emotion and transcends the material world. The shimmering, gentle hope, optimism, and loving tenderness in this song moves me deeply. I like to think that all the dads in cowboy heaven are gazing on blue skies and green pastures.
And what a blessing it is to have music that conveys the warmth, clarity, and force of someone’s good nature.
Something to look at:
Something to think about:
Every day is perfect until you notice what is wrong with it.
It is easy to be disaffected with something about the world. Maybe there is bad energy in your community. Maybe, as you see it, people care far too much about politics, or perhaps far too little. Maybe that thing you purchased didn’t make you feel the way you thought it would. Maybe your work is tedious, your boss takes you for granted.
Maybe you were misunderstood by someone, and that hurt. Or maybe you weren’t misunderstood, just not valued, and that hurt much worse.
Whenever something is going wrong in your life, if you focus on it, that will become your entire life.
But when you stop and think about it, isn’t it utterly ridiculous for any of us to feel like we are owed something? Like the unviverse hasn’t given us enough?
This is the most miraculous time to be alive in human history. We can access the full spectrum of human knowledge and wisdom using a magic tiny rectangle that fits in our hand. We can speak to people on the other side of the world in real time while walking through a park. We can see all of the greatest works of art, for free and on demand, whenever we want. We can walk down the spice aisle at our local grocery store and see more flavors than the wealthiest king from a thousand years ago would encounter in a dozen lifetimes.
There is so very much to be grateful for. Beyond screaming news headlines, beyond vapid Instagram reels, there are so, so, SO many beautiful things just waiting to feel the kiss of your attention on it. Our ancestors—by which I mean the people who came before us in time—left us an incredible cultural inheritance. There are more things to worship and revere than we could ever hope to make contact with.
And whenever I am feeling a sense of lack in my life, I can return to this comforting truth: that there is much to be grateful for. That my problems are small, my blessings are many, and reality is full of things that are substantial, real, meaningful, and good.
I am grateful for this.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
- Teddy Roosevelt
Love this!