"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are."

-- Henry David Thoreau

I try to remember this, but it isn't always easy. A few years back, during a particularly bad time, I went to stand outside in the snow during a break at work. I was mulling over how unlucky I was when I noticed, suddenly, that the sky was a breath-taking pinkred. I remembered then that there is almost always something to be glad about, even if you have to look a bit before you find it. I started a list of the things that please me.

I don't keep up with my list quite as diligently as I would like, but from time to time, something delights me and I remember to add it.

The list hasn't fixed my life or made the bad things stay away. Rather, it has helped me to find things to smile about when sorrow blinds me.

The List

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