Gratitude 2016

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Although it started with religion, it’s become a secular holiday that’s pretty pure. Everyone who celebrates it does so with people they’re close to, and they think about what they’re thankful for. There’s a bit of gluttony mixed in, but even that includes a lot of healthy food.

Today will be the first time I celebrate Thanksgiving with friends instead of family. I’m grateful to have the option, and it makes me think of how lucky I am to have such great friends and family. I love my friends as though they’re family, and I consider my family members to be some of my closest friends as well.

The emotion I feel the most throughout my day is gratitude. I’m always thinking about the various people in my life and how lucky I am to have them there. I think about the people who were in my life but aren’t anymore, and I’m grateful for how they affected me. I think about how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, Chipotle and sardines in my belly, and the ability to constantly travel around the world. I think about how glad I am that this world exists and that I get to be here. That one fluke alone is enough to flood my brain with gratitude.

And, of course, I’m grateful to have you and people like you reading my blog and my books. I was having dinner with my friend Ramit the other night and we were talking about blogging. I told him that I may not have as many readers as some other blogs, but that I thought my readers were the best group of readers out there. I’d take that trade any day. Whenever I meet you guys I’m totally humbled to have such smart and interesting people care about what I write.

I always mean to write something on the anniversary of my blog (a couple weeks ago), but I forget. I’ve been writing for eleven years now and it’s been one of the most positive things in my life. And, of course, 95% of that is because of the great people who read my blog and the serendipity that results in having some form of contact with 15,000+ people.

Gratitude is unique for a couple reasons. First, it’s one of the most powerful emotions. If I take a couple minutes to think about things I’m thankful for, I become almost overwhelmed with positivity.

Second, sources of gratitude are free and universal. I can think simply of the fact that the world exists and that I get to experience it — that one thing that we all share is a never-ending source of joy.

With one simple habit, taking a few moments to think about the miracle of life and this universe, anyone can flood their brain with those positive emotion chemicals. That’s pretty cool.

Thank you for taking the time to read what I write. If I know you in real life, thank you for being part of my life. Let’s all remember to be grateful every day. And when bad things happen, let’s be grateful for the lessons we’ll learn and the fact we’re alive and able to face those challenges.

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Photo is some mice in a zoo. I lost my sd card from my phone so I don’t have a lot of photos handy anymore. They’re backed up, though.


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