In yet another installment of my Practicing Gratitude series we explore this timeless practice on Thanksgiving. It’s the perfect time to reflect upon the past year and express gratitude for all the things we’ve experienced:
- 2020 has been a great year for family togetherness. Hours and hours of it. Nonstop interaction with family fosters a closeness that is only surpassed by people stranded on an island for months, then years, who eventually resort to cannibalism. I am grateful for the concept of separate rooms.
- I smoked weed a few times in college but always had a bad time. I didn’t go near the stuff for years. Since a few states that I have frequented have legalized marijuana, I have partaken in several different edibles and experimented enough to find the sweet spot. I am grateful for legal edible marijuana with a 2:1 CBD to THC ratio in small, incremental doses.
- I am currently using the weight loss app Noom. It’s working for me (when I stick to the system, which is most of the time). It’s forced me to eat certain “Red Foods” in moderation where I used to “go nutz.” Sneaking Red Foods can be tricky because the kids think they can have anything they see me eating. I am grateful for paper towels because they help me hide stolen halloween candy wrappers.
- I’ve been following politics much more in the last four years than ever before. I’ve come to see this type of political hobbyism as a form of dopamine-releasing outrage porn. It’s good to be engaged and involved (and always, always vote), but scrolling through Twitter to read political pundits tisk-tisk the president 38 times per hour is a waste of time. I will be dialing that back in January (Why not now, you ask. I am giving myself a pass on certain bad habits during lockdown. Nice discipline, you shriek. Get off my back, robot.). It’s also occurred to me that this idea that our government functions on a series of legally vague handshake agreements might need some fixing. All of that being said, I am grateful that most of our governmental institutions have not yet descended into complete political madness.
- I am grateful that my kids can’t see me as the flawed and mildly contemptible human that I am (yet).
- I am a believer that people tend to fulfill your expectations. We should all give each other more credit and assume the best until proven otherwise. I am grateful that my wife is more flexible and forgiving of my bullsh!t than I thought she might be the day we got married.
- I started this blog about 6 weeks ago (I know, amazing that I already have a Practicing Gratitude series) and I don’t hate it. I am grateful that I get to fu@k around on this blog whenever and however I want.
- I am grateful for the 2 hours every 6 months that I successfully delete Twitter off of my phone.
- I am grateful for relevant and illuminating links.
- I am grateful that you made it this far in the post.
Thanks for reading. Happy Thanksgiving.
-MG
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