I am grateful for authentic and candid conversations. So much of our day to day interaction boils down to inauthentic idle chit-chat. When we can have a truly vulnerable conversation with another human being we develop compassion and empathy and are living more fully.

I am grateful for my weekly trips to the local farm park where my son and I take care of alpacas. I wouldn’t want to be a farmer but I do enjoy tending to these creatures once a week and getting some mud on my boots. It keeps me connected to the earth and reminds me that we are all interconnected.

I am grateful for my earliest jobs, cutting grass, shoveling snow, stacking hay, mucking stalls, and flipping burgers. I learned a lot about the value of hard work in those jobs. I also learned why it was important to do well in school, so that I could earn a living with my brain instead of my back.