I feel I haven’t written about gratitude in a while—maybe that indicates I haven’t been very grateful recently. But I hope my record makes clear: there is always so much for which to be thankful. Talking to people around the country, I’ve become more acutely aware of how much suffering there is out there. My life isn’t perfect right now, and I’m working toward making changes to get where I want to be, but wow.. it could always be so much worse. I could be in chronic pain. I could have a felony on my record that precludes me from employment and most options in the economy. I could be out of work in my 50’s. I’ve talked to people in those situations just today. Even those circumstances aren’t the end of the line. There’s always something that can be done. But it also goes to show how fortunate we truly are. I volunteer for an impoverished community in Africa; I don’t live in it. I’ve suffered from the smoke and fires near the Bay Area—but my home wasn’t destroyed. Comparison may be the thief of joy, but employing it hypothetically can also evoke powerful gratitude realizations. We are alive. Beyond being given a fighting chance, what more can we ask for?