Paper Poetry Gratitude Workshop

Reflecting with Gratitude

Reciprocity on Medium

Nine months ago, I published my first article on Medium and it has been quite a journey. Some people don’t believe in love at first sight, but I fell in love with Medium the first time I laid eyes on her.

“The things that we love tell us what we are.” — Thomas Aquinas.

Medium has rekindled my soul, my love of nature, my love for poetry and writing. As I sit here and smile, I can’t help but to think how grateful I am for this platform. Therefore, for this gratitude workshop, I would like to first say thank you to Ev Williams for creating this space.

Early days on Medium. My apologies Carolyn Hastings for what I’m about to do🙏🙏🙏🙄🙄🙄. I’m breaking the rules because my journey on Medium has been based on writing articles as well as poetry. Consequently, there are 2 people I would like to thank as part of this journey.

Medium has been a platform where like-minded people can connect and form supportive communities. Therefore, I would like to thank KR Franklin for introducing me to what it truly means to be a part of a collective writing community.

fellowship writers a community of support I’m grateful to you.

He created a publication called Fellowship Writers, a community of writers that focused on reciprocity. It was a safe space to gain advice, interact with other writers, and support each other’s work. Unfortunately, the pub no longer exists, but writing for FW was instrumental in the way I approached and navigated through Medium.

The platform instilled the importance of supporting fellow writers, therefore, I’ve learned that reciprocity is one of the keys to success on Medium.

Thank you KR Franklin, I am grateful to have had the experience of writing for that publication.

I have fallen in love with so many poets on Medium and I consider them to be part of a collective tribe. I’m grateful to have connected with them, it has been an amazing experience. Thank you all.

If you are familiar with my writing, you know that I enjoy writing Haiku poems. They have been instrumental in expressing my emotions and a great way to practice daily mindfulness. One of my early favorites is a Haiku that I wrote about a rose budding.

One comment that stood out the most was made by Henery X. He was able to interpret the poem as I had written it to be, a reflection of me becoming more comfortable and revealing my vulnerability for the world to see.

a beacon of light your purpose is to inspire the minds of many.

Thank you dear Henery X as your words have been truly encouraging and inspirational.

So, am I done with giving gratitude, absolutely not but rules are rules, right? Geez, this is hard because I would also like to express gratitude to the publications that I write for. Oh my, how am I supposed to do this Carolyn Hastings?

writers, poets, pubs expressing my gratitude you kindle my soul.

I think I’m done though I feel obligated to write a Twittle or perhaps a Limerick as they have been part of my Medium journey.

A Poem

Twittle: exploration of your thoughts creating a visual masterpiece laced with emotions then transferring it to paper — I’m a poem

Limerick: stanzas, versus, tempos, rhythms have confused Medium’s algorithm perhaps they’re too witty or perhaps too gritty that’s just the hard knock life of a poem.

If you would like to participate in this Gratitude Workshop, the information can be found below:

Thank you all for reading and thank you Paper Poetry for publishing my first piece.