Sobriety. 2 years 3 months since I've drank.
Still relearning some aspects of being an adult. Figuring out who I am. Picking up old hobbies again and trying new ones. So many things bring me joy nowadays where it used to only be alcohol that triggered the ol happy brain chemicals.
I'm in a much better place than I was a couple years ago when I was abusing alcohol as a coping mechanism.
The bees. All our hives made it through winter and a fairly mild spring so far has given them a boost. Queens are laying like crazy, workers are working hard.
I've started wearing very thin gloves while inspecting the hives after realising that they make it less likely I'll be stung, because I can be gentler. A bonus is that I can feel the warmth of the bees, and that really does bring me joy.
I’m very happy to be a land owner. Just a few months ago I bought some land and now live in an RV on the land. Tomorrow we drive about 7 hours round trip and get the last of our stuff from storage. So happy to not pay that rent anymore.
We have fresh air, beautiful views, and tons of space to work on projects, free electric from solar, and soon free water from rain. I can’t wait to start our garden soon, then it will be free groceries.
I'm really struggling but actually doing extremely well, all things considered. We've had a hostile takeover so even if I keep my job, it really feels like it's going to shit. My garage was broken into and my bikes nicked or damaged - that really sucks bug moreso because is my main hobby, exercise and coping mechanism :(
I'm hoping I can order a new mountain bike with a gearbox, so that'll be really exciting - but it's ages away at best.
The reality is my family love me and I'm successful, so in real terms, things are good - but I really need to work on my imposter syndrome and inner accuser!
… not much.
My romantic life is painful and turbulent at best. My job is collapsing because of the tariffs. I owe too much on my car to keep it if I lose my job and it needs a new clutch anyways, which is about $3000 that I don’t have for the cheap one. Family is distant, cold, and unsupportive. My government is doing its best to make life (as a trans person) as painful as possible. Best friend died last year, my only other friend has just kinda fallen off the face of the earth. My hobbies are frustrating and unfulfilling. I have vivid nightmares nightly. My body is deteriorating to the point of near disability. I eat the same shitty $5 chicken sandwhich every day. Insurance won’t cover therapy and suicide seems more and more likely by the day.
My coffee was warm this morning though so, I guess I’ve got that going for me today.
Right now, I'm working a ton (72 hours per week) and my wife is working and going back to school, but every Tuesday is an entire day together. We just started playing Baldur's Gate 3 for the first time, and we look forward to it all damn week lol. We started like a month ago, but we're still only just now wrapping up the goblin camp. We both were already really familiar with 5e DnD, so a lot of the mechanics feel pretty intuitive to us. I have gripes with the camera (PS5 version) but overall it's a fantastic experience.
Before picking this up on sale, we were passing the controller back and forth through Astro bot. Also amazing! We rolled credits, and I'll probably aim for the platinum trophy at some point without her. There's truly not much left before we snag that, so she's not missing out.
Sunlight, food, my handsome partner, orgasms, music from my past, sleep, my cat, socializing while playing videogames, the knowledge that I'm improving my physical state, angry validation from other queers, peace and quiet, masturbation, porn, drugs, knowledge in general, good anime, the long healthy grass I can see from my window, drinking cool clean fresh water, the filthiest queer poly cnc abo smut i can find, the degoogle tech movement, the anti-facist movement in paris, luigi followers, star trek, ice cream, gw2, making music, carbonated beverages, getting better at things, seeing pictures of myself in threesomes, looking forwards to good things :) in the future, being lusted after, being loved, feeling love for others, trying to find my people, learning about myself, meditation, the fediverse and being able to speak relatively freely again, living in a liberal area, knowledge that I live in a liberal area and don't have to fear as much, cozy outfits, cuddling, piracy, helping make technology that I believe is ethically good, seeing people that also want to do good in the world and have a spine about it,
Yeah that's all I've got for now.. basically it circles around setting the good things in life, no matter how small, and also appreciating the few objectively nice things I do have in life, like a loving partner and my functioning senses.
I'm teaching guitar to a couple of students in town. I've started doing an active listening at the end of our shared class. I'm introducing them to all kinds of music they haven't heard and I love it. They're responding and listening to some new albums outside of the genres they've liked.
Thank you for the opportunity to share some good. :)
I’m working on a project that’s really important to me - and I think that there’s a good chance I’ll see it through to completion at this point.
Admittedly, outside of that project… my life has not really been doing much for me lately. I’m glad to have something right now that’s helping keep me stable and sane in a world that really feels like it’s falling apart, but sometimes it really feels like I’m working to finish it and get it out there before life becomes a bit too much.
I quit my unecessarily stressful job with no plan next, and I feel like anything is possible now!
I think I've done a reasonable job improving my dovetail jig.
That 12 inch Porter Cable model; it has some problems with repeatability. The reference marks are quite wide and positioned in a way to give a lot of parallax error. There was no real way to quantify how far you've moved the template in and out, which meant it's basically guaranteed to come out of alignment. So I took a knife to it. Scribed the alignment line around all the tines and put graduation marks on the brass thumb wheels. It's a lot easier to be deliberate in adjusting this thing now.
It still needs a few other things here and there, and I need to put those alignment marks on other templates. But it's a start.
Hi all,
I have enjoyed all of the replies in this thread, and it has brought me happiness to read about yours.
I also recognize that not everyone is feeling joy right now, and that's ok too, life is not always fun to live, sometimes it's downright brutal. If you're going through a time like that, I wish you the best in getting through it, there are few forces stronger than the power of the human will.
I think there are a few main themes here in the replies that seem to be spirit boosters, and let's be honest none of these are unexpected, but I think it can be nice to have a reminder of what's good.
In no particular order :
- Pets
- Family
- Friends
- Children
- Partners
- Accomplishments
- Projects
- Art
- Hobbies
- Freedom
- Teaching
- Health
Now I don't think you need to have every one of these things in your life to truly be happy, but if you're feeling like nothing is bringing you joy, maybe one of these things might.
I think most importantly, gratitude is the attitude, if something is making your life better, taking a second to recognize it can make it feel even better. If someone is bringing you joy, make sure they know it deep down in their soul ❤️
Anarchism and Syndicalism—Anarcho-syndicalism bring me joy, alongside Debian and Linux.
Im happy in life because I don't have to use Windows and proprietary software that limits my freedom to modify my system to my liking.
I've started practicing yoga. It's been about two weeks and I love it. I like pushing my body to do the poses and finding out that most of the time I can actually do more than I thought I could. And if I can't, that's another opportunity to get better.
Thanks for asking this question. Have a nice one.
I've got a great Plexi sound from my Helix and Les Paul for playing Led Zeppelin numbers.
I live in the US, and with the state of things I have decided to make my life more analog and disconnected this year, and for the foreseeable future. Instead of online games, I do puzzles and listen to audiobooks. Instead of doom scrolling for hours, I've decided I'm going to start backpacking. Instead of watching so much TV, I've been reading more.
All of these things are helping bring me peace. I've been pack training with my dog, which means doing longer day hikes with a heavy pack for each of us, and it's just been so nice. I'm losing weight without trying (which is a good thing as I'm overweight), I'm seeing parts of my area I've never seen, and spending fantastic quality time with my dog. This weekend we're doing a shakedown car camp to see how he does in my smaller backpacking tent and I am SO excited. In 3 weeks we go on our first backpacking trip with a friend, and I'm already dreaming of future trips. All of this is huge for us because I'm allergic to the sun (literally) and he (my dog) is very sensitive to heat, and allergic to wasps (we have to carry epipens for him) so deciding to spend time outdoors has taken a lot of consideration, determination and planning, but we're doing it. I'm so excited for the adventures we'll have, I can't even put my emotions into words.
I have friends and a family who care about me, and I've been listening to one of my new favorite podcasts, "You're Wrong About".
That's about all that's getting me through life right now.
