Gratitude and Wonder
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Hello friends, This past week, I attended an online class from author business coach Becca Syme. She's super insightful, and spoke to us about emotional regulation when world events or business disasters have us spinning. Each morning, she goes through these four phrases, and fills in the blanks:
Becca lives in Minnesota and almost canceled our talk because things in her immigrant-filled neighborhood feel so dangerous and fraught. Instead, she walked us through these phrases that she uses as touchstones every morning. I'm grateful she did, because now I get to pass them along to you. What might our work, family, political, or creative lives look like if every time we started to spin out—because of the news, or work stress, or illness, or family emergency—we took a breath, and filled in the blanks to all of these? Every day, no matter what is going on, I invoke gratitude, wonder, and a sense of magic. I also appreciate the reminder to invoke hope. Hope can be easy to dismiss when we feel activated or stressed. But, if we can take a breath, and enter into the qualities of gratitude and hope, we increase our sense of security. Today, right now, what do you feel secure in? Your spiritual practice? Your family ties? Your creative process? Your physical well-being? The greater our inner sense of security, the more we have to offer others who may feel less secure. As my friend and colleague Katrina Messenger reminds us, We give from our excess, not our lack. Community organizer Mariame Kaba reminds us that "Hope is a discipline." It takes effort to remain hopeful when times are tough. What helps? Gratitude is a good entry point. Gratitude for what is, helps me have hope for what might be. How are you this week? What gives you hope? Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, The great writer Octavia Butler once replied to a student asking about ending the world’s suffering, “There’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers—at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.” Often hailed as a prophet for her science fiction works, Butler insisted that she simply studied history and extrapolated a possible future from that—often recent—past. Many of us saw the...
Hello friends, This is a rare extra email! I wanted to let you fantasy lovers know that there's a huge book blast of .99 fantasy romance novels today! Here's a list: FaRoSociety/Bookblast. We Seek No Kings, my epic fantasy with motorcycles, dragons, and swords is .99 today (and the rest of this month) on all retailers. You can also buy the discounted fantasy trilogy at thorncoylebooks.com. be well - Thorn
Hello friends, February 1st is the Feast of Brigid in many traditions. Brigid was both a saint who helped the people and the Goddess of poetry, healing, and the forge. I have honored her for decades, as a patron both of my writing, music, and my activism. This weekend, I call upon Brigid's presence to heal hurting communities, and to strengthen those trying their best to help. Below is a poem I first wrote in 2015 and updated in 2025 (by changing one word). I offer this poem to you once...