Tonight I really wanted to write something. Truly, I did. Instead I simply ate an entire pint of bonnaroo BUZZ, sipped whiskey, and contemplated how my life has gone and how my inability to “get it” has gotten me where I am. Ironically, that led to writing. The universe wins again!

If there is a God, or gods, or even if there isn’t or aren’t, at the very least I’m thankful for what I have and try to understand where others are coming from. Those two ideals right there go a long way. More importantly, though, I’m thankful for what I don’t have and where I didn’t come from.

I don’t have polio. I don’t have AIDS. I don’t have a McMansion or the debt it almost certainly entails. I don’t have crippling anxiety. I don’t have a ton of physical and emotional things that many others do have. I didn’t come from Dharavi. I didn’t come from Princess Di’s womb. I didn’t come from trillions of places. But that’s the point! In many ways I am more grateful that I don’t have these endless things and histories than I am grateful for the talents, insights, experiences, relationships, and possessions I do have.

This is where people, generally speaking, forget to give thanks or praise. By the very nature of this setup, you’ll almost always be giving thanks and appreciate things - and it takes minimal mental effort! “Yup, didn’t die of dysentery today. Thanks, world!” That replaces, “Why is it raining? Life isn’t even worth living when it’s raining” or the grueling search for positive aspects of your daily existence. It’s an easy reverse bait and switch for the mind that makes magic happen. For real.

When it’s all said and done, it’s not like you’ll one day have all the spoils of the world - and even today that’s a contentious and presumptuous point to make because many of us are spoiled. So, as long as you don’t have your world spoiled, you are coming out on top.

And even then, it could always be worse - you could be eating pints of Ben & Jerry’s, drinking by yourself on a Friday night, and writing pure drivel for an anonymous audience.