Gratitude Day – May 2023

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

This is a 5-minute excerpt of a 35-minute interview by Arnie Carter with John Olander, our first generous poet on under1000skies.org. Features two of John’s poems, “Hello Fear” and the first poem John ever wrote six years ago, “History Shelf.” John talks candidly about his life on the street, his addiction, what he loves about being a poet, and how he has triumphed since. Congrats, John! Thank you so much.

Transcription below.

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Year 6

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
These were the Gems in Year 6 (2020) on ¤ under1000skies ¤

Each video represents one or two weeks of daily quotes with themes.

´¨) ¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Year 6 – 2020 ¤

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Gratitude Day ☼ 28 August 2022

28 August 2022

John Olander at “The Slate” in Denver, CO.

This month, John shared three new poems, the vid above, photos of beautiful friends, and two gorgeous murals at SAME Cafe and Tattered Cover Books, Denver, Colorado.

Thanks so much, Johnny O!

♥.


Defying Odds – The Mural

This beautiful mural was created by Mary Rosenburg and hangs in SAME Cafe in Denver, Colorado. The mural was created as an homage* to John and features the words from his poem “Defying Odds.”

*See John’s comment below explaining the beautiful story about this and other SAME Cafe murals. ♥.

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Gratitude Day ☼ 28 July 2022

A JohnnyO Celebration!

Each week John writes at SAME Cafe to a prompt for Coach Matt Salis which is “as fresh as each day’s breath.” Each month on the 28th we can look forward to a new piece to celebrate Gratitude Day for another month of wellness.

Thank you, John!

Image by Pixabay.

CONTAGIOUS LIKES

What do I like?

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Gems 8.43

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

On February 28, 2022, John celebrated his 14th month of sobriety. Today and tomorrow, I’ll be sharing two of his recent poems. Then every month on the 28th going forward, John told me that hopes to share new material to celebrate each anniversary of his new journey. Congratulations, JohnnyO! Thank you so much for your creative gifts and for your friendship over the years. ♥.
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Newsletter Video 2:37

I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend. ♡
This week on ¤ under1000skies ¤

´¨) ¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ #JohnnyO ¤

Gems 6.215

Dear Stranger

Gems 6.216

The Stigma and the Turning Point

Gems 6.217

Anger vs. Heart

Gems 6.218

Joy to Write

Gems 6.219

Hope

Music by Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Op. 8 from MuseOpen.org

Photos by Niki Flow

Poetry by John Steven Olander, Change Agent, Poet, Performer, Artist, and Rocky Mountain Volunteer Coordinator, under1000skies.org.

Thank you, John, for a week of inspiration. Thank you for your beautiful, creative contributions over the years since we met. Thank you for being such a shining light in the world.

I hope we have a great weekend.

♥. 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!