I am grateful for the human body’s ability to heal, which is nothing short of miraculous. The fact that our bodies can repair damage and rebuild themselves never ceases to amaze me.

I am grateful to have taken a walk with my son today. He told me all about the computer that he wants to build for his gaming setup. We discussed the fact that the graphics card he wants is hard to find and that buying it from someone who is charging more than retail is not a good way to go, and he agreed with me even if he doesn’t like it.

I am grateful that we are nearing the winter solstice. I dread the shortened daylight hours as they approach during the fall, but we are getting close to the point where things start to turn around. By January 21st, we’ll have light nearly a half hour later in the day and by February 21st it will be over an hour longer than on December 21st.

I am grateful for the kindness and compassion of others. A dear friend is having open heart surgery today and the outpouring of love from others for him and his wife has been grounding.

I am grateful for skilled hands of surgeons and operating room staff. I know that my friend will be well cared for by a team of people who I will never meet.

I am grateful that we live within driving distance of one of the premier heart centers in the world and that my friend will receive the best care possible as a result.

I am grateful for prayers. It may be surprising that an agnostic believes in the power of prayer, but I’ve learned that prayer need not be religious. Prayer takes many forms including asking for help, setting intentions, and being present and mindful.

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.

I am grateful for the 20 minutes and 53 seconds that I got to spend introducing my son to Pinky and the Brain this morning. We watched it on Hulu on my iPhone and he laid his head in my lap. Time like this is rare with him as he’s almost thirteen.

I am grateful for the long nap I took lying on the bench of the bay window in the living room yesterday. Napping is my superpower.

I am grateful for the Book of Joy from His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams. It has been an absolute delight to read about their week long meeting in 2015 and their discussions of joyful living, especially in this strange and difficult time that has been 2020.

I am grateful for friends. I have a lot of friends who I know in real life but I am also blessed to have some really great relationships with people I have never met thanks to the internet. It may be hard to believe but I’ve had some of the best conversations with folks on Twitter.

I am grateful for this morning’s run powered by coffee and the Spotify playlist “Indie Kicks 150-155 BPM” which helped to make 5.5 miles feel almost effortless. It was only two and a half years ago that 90 seconds of running led to feeling like I might fall over dead.

I am grateful for honeycrisp apples which have become my healthy snack. They are so very sweet and delicious and I feel zero guilt about them as a treat.