Happy Gratitude Day

Grateful for so much. Every. Single. Day.

I’m done with Thanksgiving.

Guess I have been for some time. The whole family gathered around the table thing never did much for me. Except the Thanksgivings when I spent four days on the river with my chosen family — my canoeing friends.

Like all our personal traditions, that lost its magic. Mainly because my canoeing friends got too old to handle the rigors of cold-weather paddling and camping. Not that I’m above celebrating Thanksgiving alone on the river.

In lieu of Thanksgiving, I’ve decided that — from now on, on this holiday — I’ll celebrate Gratitude Day.

Gratitude has been on my mind a lot lately. To me, gratitude is a lot deeper than
”being thankful” for whatever.

I came to more fully appreciate it during a guided meditation session about six months ago. Prior to that, I never gave gratitude much thought. Some, but certainly not the amount of contemplation and reflection it deserved.

These days I have a hell of a lot to be thankful for. Health. Sobriety. Enhanced creativity. Living near the river and forests that I love.

And you.