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Let’s Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude for This Week’s Open Thread

As we do at the end of every week, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

Racket's not publishing on Thursday or Friday this week, I'm racing to get my work done before we close up shop, and I'm not gonna overthink this week's prompt.

It's Thanksgiving weekend, so what are you giving thanks for?

Among that many annoying things I learned back in my 12-step days is that counting your blessings—even, yes, keeping a gratitude journal, ugh—really is a good way to balance your perspective on the world and keep you from stewing in listless misery. I even got pretty good at it for a while—though I will admit I'm a bit out of practice.

So here goes. First, I'm grateful that Racket exists. I get to write about what I want with my friends for a living, and get feedback from truly terrific readers who pay my salary directly. That's not nothing!

And I've got my health. It's been two years since I completed my cancer treatment, and (not to jinx things), if my next checkup is clear the odds of recurrence are down near zero.

I've got more friends than I have time to spend with (and I'm terrible about making plans). I'll get to see my family in about a month. And the world is full of flat-out wonderful stuff—music, food, books, art of all kinds, people I haven't yet met.

So, yes, the world's in a dark place, as it often is. But refusing to acknowledge what makes life great ain't gonna make it any less dark. Here endeth the sermon.

Of course, feel free to ignore this prompt and write about whatever you want. This is your Open Thread, after all.

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