Hope This Finds Y0u

Letters from a friend

Every Monday for twenty-five years, David Smith has written open letters to the world in his Monday Moanin’ column. At the end of each essay, he sends his readers out into the week ahead with a single wish: “Hope this finds you …” It may be “leaning into possible,” “telling stories,” or “imagining,” but embodied in the wish is the essence of Mary Oliver’s instructions for life: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Hope This Finds You is a collection of these letters, celebrating the memories, joys, and aches of an extraordinary-ordinary life. It's a gift filled with gratitude for a life filled with light, mystery, possibility, and humor. Each essay reminds us to experience all that waits for us today, and to live with a spirit of curiosity, wonder, and high expectation. Throughout, you can hear the simple whisper: never underestimate the day.

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Sunny Beeker,

Costa Mesa, CA

"Reading Monday Moanins’ is like sitting with a warm cup of tea with a good friend. As David shares his observations about (his) life, we are drawn in by the warmth, humor and grace in which he weaves his stories that leave us quietly inspired or restored of our faith in this shared human experience. "

Sabrina Keeley

Ann Arbor, MI

"I look forward to reading David’s Monday Moanin’s every week. His writing touches a place deep within and gives me a sense of grounding. David finds meaning in the simplest experiences of daily life and reminds us of what is really important."

Karen Meersman

Littleton, CO

"I have enjoyed reading weekly Monday Moanin’s since 1999, as David’s gift for writing moves its readers from laughs to tears and back to laughs again within just a few sentences. His thoughtful perspective and captivating storytelling challenges his readers to look at life through numerous lenses, while keeping them engaged and wanting more! Truly delightful"

Monday Moanin'

Thoughts From the Big House

If you accidentally google 'bustiers' it will take you to boosters of another sort

2 hours ago3 min read

Finley's Purpose

November 2, 2026 Greetings from the refresher, One of my best friends is four years old. We like each other’s company, even when we don’t understand each other. We have different interests, we spend our time in vastly different ways, but somehow when we are together, we learn from each other, and we enjoy one another. My friend is Finley, who coincidentally is my grandson. Maybe ‘coincidentally’ is not a strong enough word. He has set a pretty good example of living

Nov 23 min read

Never Miss a New Post.

Monday Moanin'

Thoughts From the Big House

If you accidentally google 'bustiers' it will take you to boosters of another sort

2 hours ago3 min read

Finley's Purpose

November 2, 2026 Greetings from the refresher, One of my best friends is four years old. We like each other’s company, even when we don’t understand each other. We have different interests, we spend our time in vastly different ways, but somehow when we are together, we learn from each other, and we enjoy one another. My friend is Finley, who coincidentally is my grandson. Maybe ‘coincidentally’ is not a strong enough word. He has set a pretty good example of living

Nov 23 min read

The Hohner Effect

About halfway across the lake, I realized I could not pretend to swim much longer.

Oct 264 min read

Take Flight

As of this moment, no plans for flying donkeys have been proposed.

Oct 193 min read

Silence at Pictured Rocks

I have felt this, been in this place before, but it has been so long I'm out of practice.

Oct 125 min read

The Space Between

Life was not measured in that way. "How far?" was not in our lexicon.

Oct 54 min read

Miscellanea

...in case a neighbor comes over and needs to solve an Ikea problem.

Sep 284 min read

ABOUT ME

I'm David. I am a writer, story teller, long distance runner, and world watcher.

I'm the author of Hope This Finds You. a collection of my reader's favorite columns chosen from over twenty years of my observations of life.

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MY PICK
OF THE MONTH

This is Happiness

This is a remarkable story of love and friendship. It is also about love and is also about friendship.

Read this book and look for the place where the author tells you what you already know about happiness.

That might be enough, but the story is set in a small village in Ireland which is named Faha, and this place is on the verge of getting electricity. While that seems like a natural, positive progression of civilization, there is enough about the impact to see some clear connections to our own world today, and how we trade, too quickly, our values for our convenience.

It is written in a lovely, lyrical style, with just enough of the Irish lilt to make you hear the sound of it.

There are few books I have ever read that I found myself pausing and going back to read things over, so that I may enjoy it fully, and because I don't want it to end. This is one of those special works.

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