Gratitude Day – August 2025

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
We’re celebrating another ¤ JohnnyO Gratitude Day! ¤

This is one of my favorite poems by John, shared in February 2022, Gems 8.44.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay 
“My piece | February 28, 2022 | 14 months Sober today.” -John Olander, Denver CO
 

Everything

Everything.

Clarity. Acuity.

Clear Vision.

Subtle Nuance.

The fragrant smell of,

just plain clean.

A thick soft towel.

A fluffy Pillow.

The soft glimmer of Sunset.

The growing warmth of Morning Sun.

The radiant heat of the fire.

A room with a view.

Staccato notes.

Goose bump Harmonies.

Isn’t it funny?

No. It’s actually not.

These sights.

These sounds.

The subtlety of EVERYTHING.

I never even knew I missed you.

-John Olander


Our first post ever featuring John was a movie with John and Nicole on March 31, 2017.

Grateful for you, JohnnyO.

♡. nf

Gems 6.219

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Niki Flow.
“Hope” – A Spoken Word Performance by John Steven Olander

Hope
Written November 18, 2020
by John Steven Olander

It’s hard to keep your attitude straight
When daily you are forced to wait.
Everything takes so damn much time.
A quarter might as well be a dime.
What can I do?
Where should I go?
Is it going to rain or snow?
It’s not too long before you’re thinking,
Ah, what the hell.
I’ll just start drinking.
Disaster’s pending with every sip.
A sip, a drink, a guzzle, and then you trip!
And so begins the predictable fall,
And you’ll be mocked by one and all.
But don’t give up.
Your chance is not gone.
From the Spirit above your strength is drawn.
So take a deep breath, and sit still.
Realize that hope and desire create
All you will.
But as with any arduous climb,
It requires a goal, resolve, lots of time.
So concentrate on your goal
And ignore the problems at hand.
Dig in, grit your teeth and
Journey hard to the Promised Land.
To live the life you want to live,
You’ve got to be committed to give, give, give.
And if you feel like you want to whine,
Just help somebody else out.
You’ll be fine.

Spoken word by John Steven Olander.

Videos shorts by Thuan Vo, Fundacja Dla Biebrzy, Zaidoopro, Alexander Helbig from Pixabay.  

Thank you, Johnny O!