30 Days of Thanks: Life

A lot of folks I know did this last year, but I was coming off a binge of horror movie-related posts from October, and so declined to partake. This year, however, I am fully embracing the 30 Days of Thanks meme, in which I choose to public express gratitude for one thing each day of the month of November. Today being November 1st, the thankfulness, obviously, begins now.

A quick word of personal background: As some of you may know, I deal with depression on a regular basis, taking a generic for Prozac every day. Sometimes it helps, other times... not so much. I am moody and, as a consequence, a bit up and down in how I think, feel and come across. Thankfully (no pun intended) I have a super support group of friends and loved ones who are willing to put up with this and, bless 'em, try and help if they can.

This month's exercise in gratitude is an active step to try and maintain a positive attitude as much as possible. With that, let's begin.

30 Days of Thanks, Day 1:

I am thankful, first and foremost, for the gift of life. The word "gift" implies that this was bestowed by someone or something. I do not subscribe to such a belief, rather I think upon life as a random gift of the cosmos, a lucky results of happenstance. At a base level, my parents copulated and a biological connection (of sorts) was made. Whatever the reason, I am here. For that, there is much gratitude.

Contrary to the plethora of gloomy outlooks presiding about our world today, I think there is much to celebrate about living in this day and age. Of course, I say that as a middle-class American, but then that is yet another thing to be grateful for. I could have been born in Ethiopia. That would mean a very different life. As it stands, however, my life is a good one. There is so much to do, so much available to me, so many people, things and opportunities to be appreciative of.

Of course, one day this will all be over. Unlike some, I do not believe I have a soul that will live on eternally after this mortal flesh can no longer function. Immortality -- in whatever form -- seems like a curse, not a blessing. The finite nature of our lives is part of what gives them impetus. Before conception and birth, we were nothing, we knew nothing. The same (consciousness-wise) can be said after we die.

The gift is life. This life. I cannot be grateful enough to the randomness within this vast universe that allowed my life to happen. Everything else flows from that.