This article is part of Washingtonian‘s feature “Gratitude.” We asked dozens of notable Washingtonians as well as our readers: What are you most grateful for? Read some of their responses here.
Ali Cherry
Standup comedian and therapist-in-training who runs the DC Writers’ Salon
What are you grateful for?
The number-one thing is [one of the salon’s groups]—we call ourselves the Morning Poppins [after Julia Cameron’s “morning pages” writing exercise]. It meets [virtually] from 8:30 to 9 a.m. every single day to write freehand, whatever comes out of your brain. It’s been an incredible source of lightness and connection. People say it’s one of the most positive things they’ve gotten from the pandemic—that’s my favorite part, hearing how important it is to people. I feel really lucky that [even though] I live alone, I haven’t really felt lonely during this pandemic because of these connections.
How do you practice gratitude?
When I find pennies, nickels, dimes, sometimes dollars, I practice writing a gratitude for every cent and put the coins in a gratitude jar. I do that every day. I write down things like sitting in Logan Circle in the sunshine reading a book, or the HelloFresh meal delivery, going for bike rides. I just bought a new jar because it’s about to be full.
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
