Gratitude

A regular reader, if I interpret correctly, asked me to consider not what I do not have (and need) but what I do have.

I'm rather happy with my life. I have great physical gifts. In 4th grade, when a very caring teacher was confronting me at a parent-student-teacher conference about the disconnect between my standardized test scores (99th percentile) and my grades (C's and D's), she (Catholic school) invoked the parable of the talents: Of those who have been given much, much will be expected. While I'm not sure what I think of "God" these days, I like to think that, if there is a kind, all-seeing creator, that entity does enjoy seeing me on the water, on a trail, on a slope using the gifts I've been given. In Boston, rowers on the Charles in the morning are part of the aesthetic fabric of the city. I know that the people on their early morning commutes who saw us delighted in our presence. So I expect any "God" must enjoy us being beautiful, too.

I have a good brain, which lets me enjoy the richness of the complex and beautiful world in which I live. I get to laugh more.

I live in a beautiful place with beautiful weather. I'm never going to starve. People, for some strange reason, seem to like and care about me. They even call me from time to time and really want to know what's up in my life.

And I have a cute new car which I like.