Is gratitude possible in 2020?

Gratitude is the word of the day. Yet, I find it hard to be thankful this Thanksgiving.

COVID-19 will soon kill more Americans than all who died during the four years of World War II. The election reveals that we remain a country divided, with the urban versus rural rift widening. The killing of George Floyd and others exposes the deep racial unrest bubbling below the surface of American culture. And while the pandemic will pass, climate change is the next global challenge looming for all of us. Nature and the planet will survive. But will we?

Gratitude. I force myself to say the word, and it leads me out of my funk. 

I have gratitude for my amazing wife and daughter, for my home, and for having money in the bank. People dream of the life that I have. I will look back on these times with my family as the “good old days.” And life could always be worse.

I even have gratitude for the pandemic. It has helped me realize how much of my life I’ve wasted being angry, ruminating on my past choices, and perceived injuries. I’ve spent too much time resenting, which is like drinking a poison and waiting for the other person to die. A pandemic grants you a tabula rasa.

Vaccines are coming, in record time. The mumps vaccine took four years, which was the previous record, and by this time next year, I will probably be inoculated, safe from COVID-19. That is beyond a medical breakthrough. It’s a miracle.

Gratitude. My glass is more than half full. 

While leaves cover the ground, the Chinese magnolia tree in the backyard is sprouting buds that will become blossoms within the month, and my lemon lime tree is giving me a record harvest this year.

I am thankful and grateful. Have a happy Thanksgiving!