Best Of

I am grateful for:

• wild turkeys and free range anything
• ability to be grateful
• simple pleasures eg. the sun is shining
• living in a safe place
• people, they all try to be or do good, even if only partially

How was your Thanksgiving, American friends?

I'm thankful for my family and home and glad to cook something special but not to big for 3 people: life partner, Mom, and myself. I'm using a jar of store made braising sauce to slow cook seasoned and browned chicken tenders and drumsticks. And cheese filled biscuits brushed with garlic butter. Chicken is in the slow cooker. Thankful for relative health though just diagnosed with diabetes even though I changed my diet drastically and lost 10 to 15 pounds.

Grateful to still be here after going thru esophageal cancer earlier this year. Other than swallowing difficulties due to scar tissue from all the radiation treatments I feel perfectly healthy again.

I am grateful that you have opened this thread, @person. I used to have a heading for gratitude in my morning journal for years. I shall aim to make it so again - it primes the mind in good ways for the rest of the day.

I am grateful for this forum, our little online Sangha, all of you posting here rarely or often, to @Linc for keeping it operational, and to @federica for having moderated us. I often thought that I should open a "NB forum appreciation thread".

I am grateful for Buddhism. Among other things, it keeps me optimistic about the future, interested in life, and reminds me of the important things.

I am grateful for my Buddhist inspirations (teachers) but also non-Buddhist and non-spiritual ones. Their example shows a sense of possibility, their words light a little candle of the same quality in me, and their instructions are one of the greatest treasures in life for one who can actually implement them.

I am grateful for my parents, who are now aging (70 & 84). This year, both my Godfather's parents died, with whom I was very close. That made me realise that however irritating they are sometimes, this is it, they will die, so better make the most of our time together, and be as kind and helpful to them as I can.

I am grateful for my friends. They make life fun and keep loneliness at bay.

I am also grateful for my mental health holding up and actually improving both mid- and long-term, my decent physical health, my apartment, my hobbies, my efforts at good habits, even my new job that is a great opportunity both in terms of career and personal growth...

I am grateful to myself anytime I do a positive thing or, with frustration, whenever I don't do a negative thing.

I am grateful for my new bedside lamp. Y'all will laugh, but it is bringing me great comfort and joy, and is currently my favorite thing, maybe because I had crappy lighting in the bedroom in my previous apartment so I see it as a wonderful thing

It sounds like a good tradition, I will join in.

This year after losing my father and Aunt Elly, I’m grateful that my mother is still with us. I’m grateful that my mental health, despite a few stresses and groans, is still holding up. I’m grateful for beautiful green forests and the rains that feed them, for flowers and birds and bees…

Its Thanksgiving in the US, the day we celebrate eating too much food and football 😏. Part of that tradition in many families is taking turns before the meal to say what we're thankful for.

This year I'm thinking of my health and how grateful I am that at the age of 52 with a physically demanding job that my body and my health is still quite good. It allows me to continue to make a good enough living without stressing me out and I feel comfortable purchasing insurance with a high deductible. The recent budget standoff and government shutdown in the US was a fight over the insurance market place subsidies, I will be paying about 250% more next year, but it won't break the bank as a single person in good health and a 20 year old mortgage. But for a family or someone needing a more expensive plan it will make a negative impact.

So I'm thankful that my health continues to be good. I've also lost 10 pounds over the past few months, I think mostly through reducing sweeteners.