A Ticket Made of Gold

Sometimes you run into people who radiate so much optimism and so many good vibes that you feel an instant connection with them.

They end up teaching you valuable lessons about your own perspective on life. They help you to accept yourself as you are and inspire you to make yourself an even better person. They put a smile on your face almost instantly.

That’s the kind of person today’s poem is about.

And what’s more, I’m super excited that Holly from “Release and Gather” has taken over today’s “Some Fun Stuff” section on Hello Universe!

Look at that tagline!

“Letting go of what was to make room for what’s to come.”

This makes Holly’s writing a great fit for today’s topic! I must say, “Release and Gather” is one of the most optimistic newsletters I have ever read on Substack. Just look at Holly’s latest post where she takes her subscribers on a walk around her neighborhood. So many little details of fun and whimsy!

Let's Take a Walk

Holly has also been a Hello Universe subscriber for some time now and she is a huge supporter of this little place we come to hang out at every Tuesday. So subscribe to her newsletter “Release and Gather” today, and check out her recommendations on “Some Fun Stuff” below!

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!

---

"A Golden Ticket!" says the girl
"A ticket to your dreams!
A ticket made of real gold!
A ticket that just gleams!"
✨

"A ticket that will let you win
the things that matter most.
A ticket that lets you begin
new journeys to new coasts"
⛵

I wonder, wish and whisper, "Well,
I'd like to get one too!
Pray, answer me, why don't you tell,
just share a simple clue!"
🤔

And then she says a simple chant,
"The answer to your strife,
The Golden Ticket that you want,
is your amazing life!
🫵

You ask for more to come your way
but you don't realize,
that living fully everyday
is your life's greatest prize!
🏆

So grab it now, with both your hands
for every month and year.
It's yours to live and love, my friend,
The Golden Ticket's here!"
🎟

---

That’s it! This was edition no. 84 of Hello Universe.

Keep reading below to see Holly’s recommendations on “Some Fun Stuff”!

---

Some Fun Stuff:

by Holly Rabalais from “Release and Gather”

This is where Punit normally shares something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch, but today you get me—Holly Rabalais from Release and Gather, where I write about people and community, food and leisure, matters of the heart, and navigating the challenges of life. 

I’m excited to share with you today some links I’ve discovered recently. Click to visit the recommended content.

1. Read “50 ways to be ridiculously generous—and feel ridiculously good.” by Alexandra Franzen: Living life with open hands is important to me. It’s sort of the premise behind “Release and Gather”—releasing what we hold onto so we’re free to gather the unexpected. Franzen’s list is filled with beautiful ways to do just that. From turning a photo from your smartphone into a real postcard for someone to leaving a note of encouragement to a random person in an art supply shop, there are many suggestions that don’t cost anything except your time. Read it and be inspired to make the world a little better, one act of kindness at a time.

2. Listen to Dizzy Reece, “a Jamaican jazz trumpeter from Kingston” born in 1931: I discovered two of Reece’s albums via Flow State this week and have had them on repeat. Perfect tunes to backdrop an evening in the kitchen or settling into a cozy chair with a good book. The Internet is such a great place to discover artists who gifted the world with music before I was born.

3. Watch Clayton Raithel’s TEDx Talk “Comedy as Therapy”: Raithel wrote Smile, an autobiographical, one-man comedy show about depression and the loss of first love, and through that experience, he learned that thinking like a comedian actually involves many of the same skills and techniques used in talk therapy. Many of us go through slumps. I recently wrote about one of mine, and many readers joined the discussion of what do we do to pull ourselves out. Raithel’s talk gives another perspective and technique to kick the blues, and his style and delivery makes a talk about depression light!

That’s it from a little corner of the Southern United States. Hope to see you over at Release and Gather!

- Holly.

---