Taking Inventory

My end-of-year accounting of reasons to be grateful.

Photo by Getty Images for Unsplash+

In the furniture business, where three generations of my family earned their livelihoods, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day was set aside for taking inventory. As I understand it, its purpose is to count everything left in stock, making sure the books are accurate (i.e., no merchandise “fell off the truck”) and having a credible dollar value for tax reporting. Taking inventory sets the business up for the new year.

This year I’ve decided to take a different kind of inventory. I’m taking stock of everything for which I am grateful.

There is solid scientific evidence proving that feeling gratitude is good for your health. Studies consistently show an association between gratitude and well-being. Studies have also shown that feeling gratitude improves relationships and lowers stress.

I’m sure you have your own gratitude inventory, but here is mine:

First on the list is gratitude to you, my readers. You give me a reason to write. Knowing that hundreds of you read my posts each week gladdens my heart. Even more satisfying, I’m thrilled that many of you take time to comment. Having this online dialogue with readers reenforces my sense that we are a community, sharing common experiences.

(I should add that I am especially grateful to those who have committed to paid subscriptions. Thanks to you, I am able to convince the IRS that my publishing venture is more than a hobby.)

I am grateful for my wife – my co-conspirator and best friend for the past 50 years – who loves me enough to give me the space to do what I do in my own roundabout, inefficient way, while gently reminding me of ways I can be a better person.

I am grateful for my two children, who have found their way in the world despite their parents’ misguided attempts to advise them. I am proud of the people they have become.

I am grateful for my four remarkable grandchildren, individually four distinct personalities, and collectively a fiercely protective, tightly knit unit, treating each other with compassion and understanding well over 85% of the time. I am grateful for my daughter-in-law, who brings out their best selves.

I am grateful to my friends for their many acts of kindness, their conversation, and their companionship. I am grateful to my brothers and sister, who keep alive the memories of our shared past.

I am grateful to have a warm home, warm clothes, and warm food in this cold, dark season. And I am grateful for the compassionate people in this world who aid those who lack these comforts.

I am grateful to live in a country where I am free to speak out honestly, regardless of whether governing authorities approve of my opinions.

I am grateful for my good health, recognizing it as a gift that can be revoked at any time. I appreciate each additional year above ground as a blessing to be used wisely.

I am grateful for the people and organizations in the world working to end conflicts, relieve human suffering, and protect the environment of our one and only planet.

I am grateful for the musicians and the poets, the dancers and the painters, who capture the beauty and wonder of our world and evoke from us the best and deepest of human feelings.

I am grateful for the hope that finds its way into our hearts and gives us the strength to persist in the face of tragedy, disappointment, and suffering.

At this season, especially, I wish for you a life with many blessings and daily miracles worthy of your gratitude, as we take our next spin around the sun.