1. … a helpful highway patrolman who stopped and lent me a lug wrench to change the flat tire that I had on the way to work.
2. … the color green.
3. … the opportunity to make choices.
4. … a good night’s rest.
5. … the opportunity to be a father.

1. … a week spent with my little family.
2. … a week without blogging. (More on that later.)
3. … new clothes in cheering colors.
4. … friends who ask where I went on my week off.
5. … the chance to work for a living.

So, I try to never use the word “but” when expressing gratitude. Instead, I focus solely on the parts that I’m thankful for.

1. LDS Church, thank you for introducing me to many good people. There are worse ways to start out in life than being surrounded by people who try hard to do what they see as the right thing and who repeatedly emphasize how important it is to know the truth.
2. Thank you to my employer. I am grateful for the means to consistently put food in front of my family.
3. To my daughters, thank you for teaching me what it means to be a human being.
4. To the authors of Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex, but Were Afraid They’d Ask, thank you for giving me a more reasoned, accepting view of my own sexual development. It’s good to know that I grew up rather typically. I’m sure my daughters will also have reason to thank you in years to come.
5. I am grateful for the chance to get good sleep. For this, I mostly have to thank myself. It’s up to me to make the most of the opportunities I have.

1. My daughters, thank you for forgiving me when I make mistakes as a parent. Your lenience gives me the space necessary to make an attempt to improve.
2. My wife, thank you for being patient when I don’t listen enough. Your patience shows me how committed you are to our marriage, to me.
3. Jon Kabat-Zinn, thank you for your guidance in making the most of the life that I have.
4. Nevada State Legislature, thank you for doing the right thing, making Nevada a more just place for everyone to live.
5. Life, thank you for your little reminders (i.e. pain and suffering) that keep me on track.

Can you tell I’ve had a down week?

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.—Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Before I get down to the usual business, I want to respond to this idea because I’ve heard it several times in various places. I feel and express gratitude all the time. Since losing my belief in God, I haven’t been at a loss for people to thank.

I’m thankful to my parents for giving me life (and to their parents who gave them life, and so on).

I’m grateful for my wife who threw her lot in with me and risked her life to bear and raise children with me.

I’m grateful for all the innovators in science, technology, and the arts who have made my modern life of relative health, comfort, and ease possible.

I’m grateful for the groundskeepers who provide the uplifting environs where I work.

Even when I can’t find a person to thank for something (e.g. the warming light of the sun or the naked fact of our existence), I don’t miss being able to thank someone. I feel grateful—and incredibly fortunate—just the same.

This sense of gratitude without someone to thank may represent an improvement: I no longer suffer the temptation to imagine that I deserve the good things I enjoy by being faithful to God. And if I don’t deserve what I have, then all the more reason to share it with those who deserve it just as much as I.

With all due respect to Mr. Rossetti, he should have avoided offering witticisms about something that he apparently lacks experience of.

Oh, and by my count, that’s five things plus one.

1. … having a good woman as my partner.
2. … music and art. My life is infinitely richer because of them.
3. … the time I’ve had recently with my daughters. I’ve been trying to focus more on the truly important things in life, and it has paid off with immediate returns.
4. … homemade yogurt. It’s eerily simple to make. I feel like I’ve learned a secret art.
5. … the philosophy of fire and motion.

1. … the end of a semester that frees me to study what I choose at my own pace.
2. … healthy children.
3. … the mother of my children.
4. … my mother.
5. … my new-found positive outlook.

1. … clean, wholesome food.
2. … that I study better than I used to.
3. … human companionship.
4. … to have the chance to exist.
5. … to know what I do about human origins. The story fascinates me.

1. … the chance that I’ve had to get to know my wife.
2. … the renewed knowledge that sleep is important. I haven’t made sleep a priority this weekend, and it shows. I’m grateful that I’m aware enough of that to take correction.
3. … the chance that I have every day to take walks while at work.
4. … the relationship that I have with my daughters so far. May I continue to nurture it.
5. … my ability to learn new things.

1. … to be alive and healthy.
2. … to have a best friend.
3. … for the generosity of strangers who donate their time for free culture projects. I use so many free tools every day (e.g. I manage this blog with free software), I won’t attempt to list them.
4. … for museums and libraries and other local institutions that bring the best of culture to us.
5. … to have clean food and water.