What I'm Thankful for This Year

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the United States and that creates a natural trigger to reflect on some of the things that we have to be grateful for. I know this holiday is founded on some shaky ground and the first Thanksgiving itself is probably not something we should be celebrating (ulterior motives of the Pilgrims and whatnot), but since we are here already anyway, I find it valuable to think about what I am grateful for and put that down on the page. Even in 2020 when Covid has upended just about every aspect of normal life, there are multitudes of things to be thankful for and that's what I'm going to go through today.

Health

Something Covid threw the contrast dial up on this year was health. During a pandemic, the personal health of yourself and your loved ones becomes a main topic of consideration and thought in a more serious manner than in any other time of my 26 years on this planet. So here in November of 2020, I'm deeply grateful that I have my own health and well-being and that by in large, so does my family and my extended network of friends. I think I may be a minority in that I don't know anyone close to me who has gotten Covid so bad that they have been hospitalized. While I feel slightly nervous announcing that fact with the risk of jinxing it, I hope that continues. Healthy people can name a thousand things that they want. Sick people, only want one thing. I'm thankful to be in the former camp, at least for this year so far.

Music

Up until March of 2020, I spent most of my free time going to concerts and live shows. It was my main form of expense and by far my favorite way to spend a night out in New York or whatever city I found myself. Since March 2020, I haven't been to a single live event but what I am still thankful for is the music community that I have been lucky to be included in through my passion for concerts. I met my girlfriend in a roundabout way through my love for music. I have no less than 5 group chats that are oriented around either a love for music in general or a specific genre and those group chats give me a reason to stay in touch with some of my favorite people in the world. Even though we are scattered across the globe, those message forums keep us connected, and without music, I don't know that I would be maintaining these relationships that I care so much about.

Outdoor Activities

Going outside is something that isn't a real priority for people living in New York. The metropolitan lifestyle is one of a concrete jungle, with occasional excursions upstate (if you have access to a car) or maybe to the beach if you want to take the train to Rockaway. This year, I left New York on March 12th, right before the lockdowns happened, and as a result, have spent far more time outside than in my four years in the city. I've known that I love being outside. I make it a priority to hike, camp, ski, whatever when I come back to Denver for the holidays. But this year, due to Covid, going outside has been my main source of activity... and it’s been awesome. I've done half and full marathon length hikes. I've picked up surfing, in earnest finally. I've taken more walks and seen more of my neighborhood (both in Venice and in Castle Pines) than I have in any previous year. I've done all of this because it’s the only thing to do, but now that it’s a fundamental part of my life, I'm going to keep this habit up long into the future. Going outside has a calming and centering effect that creates distance from the noise of the news and the goings-on of the world. In a year where that distance is necessary to maintain some semblance of mental health, I’m grateful for my ability to have spent much of the last 9 months outside and off my phone.

Reading (Books)

Up until this year, I've had an on and off relationship with reading books. I've been great at reading blogs and long-form articles, as they appear in my feed or are sent to me by friends. But I haven't been able to stick with books in the way that I would have liked for myself. This year, I'm happy to say, that has changed. I've read more books on a wider range of topics than any year since the year I graduated from college, and this habit appears to be sticking. I've read a widely recommended book on Teddy Roosevelt, a Pulitzer Prize winner on Surfing, classic fiction, and personal psychology books. I've learned more through the book lens than I can remember and the ritual of reading every day is something that I have now come to love. There is a great quote, from Naval Ravikant that says "Read what you love until you love to read." I'm happy to find myself in the "I love to read" camp after a year of staying inside and making reading a priority.

Writing

Finally, one of the things I'm most thankful for this year is a writing practice and a group of people who support that practice. It was my New Years’ resolution this year to publish 12 pieces of writing. I did not set out any firm parameters on what those pieces looked like, how long they had to be, or even where I published them. I just needed to finally get my feet through the door and put something I've written out on the internet. I've been waffling on a writing practice for a long time and with Covid came the destruction of any excuse I could imagine for why I wasn't writing. Luckily, I was able to spin up a habit and start putting some pieces out on the web. The support I got from my family, friends, girlfriend, high school English teacher, and everyone else who saw a piece of my writing made it so much easier to keep going. My life got busy again in August of this year but I'm going to continue to keep publishing because this exercise is something that I love and I'm blessed with an incredibly supportive group of people who have given feedback on my writing.

Thanksgiving, while founded on some shady business by the Pilgrims, offers a good time to reflect on the last year and think about what are the good things in life. This year has been full of terrible news and depressing developments on the global scale, but if you think hard about it, I imagine there is plenty that all of us can be thankful for. That attitude that "even with all this going on, there are still things that I'm grateful for" is a healthy one because it serves as a firm reminder that amongst all of the shit, there are still some silver linings in 2020.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving full of Moist Turkey and plentiful side dishes.