👣 Step 35: We're So Lucky

New naming convention I'm trying out! 👣 = The Step Up. Step = volume.

I saw this montage of people from around the world enjoying life to the audio of a woman singing - each line ending in “I’m so lucky.”

Afterward, I found myself singing off countless things I’m lucky for to that same melody.

My fiancé. My family, friends, and Pluto. A quiet, clean apartment. Bluetooth headphones. A job I love. Iced coffee. My washing machine. The ability to remember. The ability to run, walk, and stand up without assistance. Clean water to drink. And so much more.

You’re reading this newsletter in 2026.

You are so lucky.

You have a computer/phone, an internet connection, the time, freedom, and peace of mind to read this, the ability to read and think in the first place, and the breath in your lungs.

You live a life that billions of people on this planet can only dream of.

A life that history’s royalty would be jealous of.

You had no choice over where and when you were born.

​The game of chance.​

How lucky.

The vast majority of humans were born before now. They lived without modern medicine, air conditioning, electricity, access to clean water and reliable food, freedom and self expression, and so much more.

Even today, that’s still true.

Some people woke up in a war zone.

Some people woke up without food.

Some people woke up without the ability to remember.

Some people didn’t wake up.

We woke up and didn’t think twice.

We are so lucky.

This is not to discount the afflictions and tragedies in our world. It's simply a reminder for us to take a step back and appreciate what we do have.

Yes, there are still a lot of things that we need to improve in our cities, states, countries, and world. They’re valid, important, and worth fighting for.

And we have the opportunity to fight for them in the first place.

People throughout history would have died to be in our situation, and some did. Some still do.​

We are so lucky.

The goal for humans is love.

The goal for society is progress.

And we are so lucky to even be able to think about that, much less act on it.

See you next Thursday, Steppers.

We will succeed,

Grayson

​graysonstepanek.com​

​​​

Song of the Week:

All I Wanted Paramore PREVIEW   ​

Knocked back a handful of imported beers last weekend (Paulaner Salvators to be exact) and jammed Paramore while playing Call of Duty and looking up cheap flights from Houston to Kazakhstan next May. Again, we exist at a time where me saying this is not that wild, just "yep, sounds like a chill Saturday night." We are so lucky.