Any list of personal gratitudes could potentially be very long, for any living person: having eyes, having a mind that allows you to think, a heart that gives you desires, and the fulfillment of even tiny desires – these are all gratitudes that are available to any of us.

Sometimes, life puts us in the blessed position of having great big obvious gratitudes, making it exceptionally easy to feel thankful.

I am now in one of those positions.

  • I live in tropical paradise.
  • I do work that I love, and I am supporting my whole family.
  • I take breaks from my workday to swim in a great big pool with my children.
  • We have fresh pineapple every day.
  • My wife is pregnant with our third child.
  • We wake up early every morning to the sounds of toucans and monkeys.
  • We live on a mountain in the middle of the jungle, in a well built house, only ten minutes away from a small city.
  • We have only the best of everything we used to own, shedding the least important possessions, and keeping only the essential.
  • This simplicity has allowed me to enjoy little things, instead of being distracted by big things.
  • Every day, I find myself smiling for no reasons at all.
Actually, that last one isn’t true. I have a whole list of reasons, that grows exponentially every day. I don’t think I will be able to keep up with writing them all down.