The Blog

Nowadays its fairly commonplace to hear talk of the importance of gratitude, and how regularly practicing it can be a game-changer for mindset (which it absolutely can, as science suggests gratitude could improve stress levels, reduce pain, help with depression and have physical health benefits too.) Much less frequently, however, do we hear people extolling the virtues of appreciation with the same amount of fervour. Why? Our reporter (me) investigates (muses).

I’m also an enthusiast, which is probably how most of you know me first and foremost. And - as a lot of us have - I’ve been doing a looooot of existential crisis-ing this past year; about who I am, what I do, and where I want to be in the future (just the small things to be pondering during a global crisis, hey?)

With the help of time, space, and some brilliant conversations with even more brilliant people, it has become apparent to me that being a writer is central to my identity. Now, I wrote full manuscripts to publishing houses when I was 12, and I’m a literal copywriter by trade - I said I was enthusiastic, not self-aware - and though I love it and can’t really imagine ever not doing it, I’d never thought of writing as that big a part of who I am.

Literary legend has it that one day, out for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel, Ernest Hemingway bet a table full of prolific writers that he could write a good story in just 6 words. They had their doubts, they placed their $10 bets, and he hit them with what has now become a famed example of the power of words (‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’). Since then, it’s become a famous prompt for writers, seeing who can fit the most emotion into just six words. My offering to the party is not only the best six word story, but also, I think, some of the best six words you can ever hear: SAW THIS AND THOUGHT OF YOU.

Why all the fuss, EK?