Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. The shitstorm that is 2020 has left me personally in fairly good shape - I have a decent cash reserve, and I live on the “Big Island” of Hawai’i, where people are very community-oriented about wearing masks, and I can breathe fresh air and take wonderful nature walks year round.
But still, it hasn’t been a great year, because…well, stuff. I know it doesn’t make the lives of other people better because I’m sad, but I still feel really shitty about the suffering of others, not to mention the continuing erosion of American democratic institutions. And it’s been stressful for me personally (nothing like the suffering of so many people, of course) as I adjust to being on my own after splitting from my husband.
And yet … today I got some good news. A grant I applied for, and worked very hard on, for the cultural institution that I volunteer practically full time for, got funded! This is awesome news as we desperately need the items the grant will pay for. And I will get credit and recognition for my good work.
I was struck by how hard it was to feel unfettered joy at the good news. In fact, when the email came in, I didn’t open it for a couple of hours because I was SURE it was bad news.
Damn. We should all retain our ability to feel joy at whatever goodness comes our way, large or small.
Well hot damn! Nice for your hard work to bear fruit. You deserve the recognition and your cultural institution can sure benefit further from your talents! Way to go!
Congratulations! As a grant writer, I know firsthand how good it feels to secure money for a project. So happy to hear your good news! I know it’s been a rough year for everyone, but even with relative privilege, the state of things is a lot to bear psychologically. I’ve been trying to see the joy in things more.
Thanks for the kind words, doper-friends. When I started this thread I wasn’t looking for congrats – though it’s always nice to share good news and hear that someone else is happy for you, so maybe that should have been my motivation!
What I wanted to point out is that it struck me how cautious I was about to accept good news and take simple joy in it. Given how much bad news we’ve all been subject to lately it isn’t surprising, but I for one shall try to be more open to joyous experiences. Here’s hoping we all can. (I do love to read good news from dopers; it genuinely gives me a little boost to my day.)
I get a lot of joy out of my baby, honestly. He’s one very good thing that came out of 2020. Having him to take care of really grounds me in the midst of all this chaos. With all this political turmoil and people suffering from COVID, it’s almost meditative to tickle him or read him a book. And then to watch him learn to move around and solve problems is spectacular. It’s a really simple thing but very powerful.
Oh my @Spice_Weasel … you have a baby!!! Yay!!! I missed that. Oh, I really am extremely joyous for you. That’s terrific! How old? (And I suppose it’s a bit outdated to ask gender, but, boy or girl?) Tell me something cute about him/her.
Now, could you send some of your luck our way? I sit on the board of a charity that might have to close its doors in December, if we don’t get a couple of grants we’ve applied for. The Corona virus has really put a cramp in our public fundraising efforts, and we need those grants, if we are to keep operating and helping those who need us.
Sending you luck, @Spoons. This is a terrible time to be trying to survive as a non-profit. As things now stand our financial projections show us limping along until December 2021 (mostly thanks to our Economic Injury Disaster Loan) but if nothing has changed by then we’ll be bankrupt. I’m sorry that your charity’s situation is even worse.