What am I thankful for?

What I am thankful and grateful for Thanksgiving 2014

This has been a tough year for me. Sure, lots of good things happened, but lots of terrifying things did too.  I was hospitalized. My husband had health problems. We struggled financially and have come through it alive and in fairly good shape.

So – what am I thankful for.

My husband for being my rock and helping me when I need it. He picks up my slack when I can’t do things as I pick up the slack for him. Ours is a true partnership in the best sense of the word. I don’t know what I would do without him.

I’m also grateful for my son. We almost didn't have a child, so it’s still a big deal we have him. And despite all the difficulties of being a parent, I really do enjoy it. There are no other people I want to spend time with as much as I want to spend time with my husband and son.

My family and my inlaws. I am really lucky to have wonderful people in my life. People I can discuss politics with and personal problems with and get great advice. I have some REALLY smart people in my family and I am glad that technology lets me talk to them regularly.

I am glad that I live when I do so that our health problems didn't kill us. Technology, doctors, nurses, etc – everything that goes into modern health care is wonderful and lifesaving. I would not be here if someone hadn't figured out how to do a cat scan or laproscopic surgery.

Television and the internet. I am addicted to Bollywood movies and thanks to things like Netflix and my TV – I can see a world full of movies in my living room with my feet up nursing a broken toe while writing this blog. And this makes me very happy.

I love my crockpot and the fact my mother in law gifted it to me. It has made cooking for my family so much easier.

I love Pinterest. Tonight’s dinner was a crockpot recipe I found on Pinterest and – again, there’s the internet and crowd intelligence working well for my personal benefit. So to the people who post recipes etc – thank you. Thank you to the geeks who created the site and the people who created and maintain an open internet for me to use.

Science. At the moment, my son and his friends are raising tadpoles in a tank on my porch. It’s a porch I like sitting on when it rains. I like looking out in my yard at night under the moonlight – with the frogs chirping. As I sit and enjoy nature, I am reminded about all we know about nature because we figured out a way to objectively search for the truth through a methodology known as science.  And it is this search for knowledge that has created all the things that make my current life so wonderful – and of course science helped enable the technology that saved my life.

Mostly, I’m just thankful that I am alive to experience life. The good and the bad. And I’m thankful that you, who are reading this, find value enough in my writing to stick with me and continue reading my thoughts and ideas as crazy as they sometimes are.

I hope you are as grateful and thankful to be alive as I am.

Just Keep Swimming

Sometimes all you can do is keep going.

I have a friend who, whenever things get tough sings, just keep swimming from Finding Nemo.  I love it when she does that because it’s a great life philosophy. And even though my friend is Christian, I think it’s very humanistic of her.

Here’s why. Life is hard. It’s difficult and things don’t always go your way. But being alive, as hard as it is, is better than the alternative.

By reminding yourself to just keep swimming when things get hard, you are doing 2 very important things.

• Telling yourself not to give up, and
• Reminding yourself that things will eventually get better. They normally do.

Why is that important? Because hope is what keeps humanity going. Lose hope, lose your will to live.

If you know that if you just keep swimming, you will eventually end up somewhere, anywhere, it’s easier to bear the present, as unpleasant as it is.

So, just keep swimming.

Today is going to be a good day

How a change in perspective can make all the difference in the world.

It’s Good Friday, but I’m a Humanist, so the religious implications of the day mean pretty much nothing to me.  I do however LOVE the name of this holiday. Good Friday. It implies that it’s going to be a good day. And that’s a good thing. Isn’t it?

Life would be wonderful if it was filled with good days. But I suspect that most of us would be grateful if we managed to have a Good Friday now and again. Which begs the question, how does one go about having a good day?

To me, a good day is one where I feel good, pretty much all day. Nothing major happens bad or good. Just, life goes on as it should. There are people in my life I care about, who I can spend time with. I eat good food and have time to enjoy it. I get to notice nature and appreciate it and the fact that I am alive.

As I write this list I realize that almost everything in my list is within my control. Am I a good enough person to attract good people to me? Am I appreciating my life in the present? Do I notice my food or the weather and appreciate it for what it is? The more I make that a habit, the more I see my days as pretty darned good over all.

As I have gotten older, I have come to realize. Most days are pretty boring. Nothing much happens out of the ordinary. There are just a myriad of little details that need to be attended to and a myriad of little aggravations that have to be worked around. I no longer let those bother me. They are just part of the business of being alive. I don’t need to get worked up over them.

So stop waiting to have a good day and start appreciating the days you already have, actively. Take a moment every day to appreciate the fact that you are alive and that you can feel the wind on your skin and the pull of gravity. As far as I am concerned, any day I am alive and able to experience life is a good day, even when it’s not.

What makes you feel glad to be alive?