Form 1099-K, Stripe Inc. Box 1a: Gross amount of payment—$3008

Yes, I earned $3008 dollars in 2025 publishing weekly essays on Substack. And yet I must confess that when I first opened the envelope it came in, I saw this form not as a marvelous message from the universe but as one more end-of-year tax burden. I failed to see it for what it really is:

Verification that I AM A PAID WRITER!

What else am I taking for granted in my life? What splendiferous blessings am I surrounded by and not seeing clearly? What love? What beauty? What good fortune? What health and well-being and friendship and opportunity?