There is always something to be thankful for in this life.

From the deepest wellspring of despair to the grandest heights of ecstasy, we – as existing individuals – should be mindful of those things in life that truly deserve our thanks.

First off, if you are reading this, say thanks for being on the sweet side of the grass.

Second, if you are reading this and not in a hospital bed, give thanks that you are healthy enough to move around without an oxygen tank or a wheelchair. If you are using an oxygen tank or wheelchair, see the first reason above for giving thanks.

Besides life and health – two obvious things – there are many other thankful events.

If you are reading this from somewhere in America, be thankful for that fact – we take for granted so much as Americans that it belies the incredible nature of what it really means. Despite what contentious people might say – and what certain political groups are trying to do – you do indeed have liberty here; freedom of expression and thought; and access to opportunities for advancement that cannot be found anywhere else, in such magnitude, as you find in America. The “pursuit of happiness” is best done in America, where you have the freedom to make your pursuit as best fits your ambition and talents.

Assuming you have the will and courage to accept the challenge.

Be thankful for family.

Now this can get tricky.

It may be that “thanks” is not quite the concept that comes to mind when we contemplate certain people in our family. So be it. Give thanks, then, for the good people in your family. The bad parts, well, keep in mind that the saying, “Blood is thicker than water” was coined by an out-of-work relative who moved into the back room and wouldn’t leave. Still, they are your family.

Give thanks for friends. You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends. Like the old Indiana Jones movie puts it — “Choosing wisely” is important. Friends reinforce all that is good, or bad (if you choose poorly) about you as a person.

Consider the words of Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) the Spanish novelist who wrote Don Quixote:

Tell me what company thou keepst, and I’ll tell thee what thou art.

A friendship is like a marriage, which is also like politics – it is a constant dance of give and take, but in a positive way. Each friend gives and takes what is best about themselves, and each person derives the benefit, emerging from the friendship a better person than when they entered.

Give thanks for a sense of humor. Laughter really is the best medicine. We all know people (most of them seem to be accountants or doctors) who just don’t get it. Life is not a joke, but a joke is life. The moment you start to take anything too seriously, well, you are asking for a bit of trouble, as that level of attachment is bad for your karma. A light grip works best whether you are serving a tennis ball, hitting a double off the wall in Fenway or making a 60 yard pitch shot in golf. Or worrying about the bills, your spouse, the job, or anything else.

Assess, but don’t obsess. No one will ever want the phrase, “I wish I had spent more time worrying,” etched on their gravestone.

Give thanks for your ability to think. It helps you change the channel when junk is on the television. It helps you ponder whether what someone says in the media is true or false – be thankful you have the free will to make up your own mind. Your ability to think is the one trait that makes you truly and completely human, that separates you from the animals – relish this and expand your knowledge whenever possible – you should be growing intellectually every day. Don’t let others think for you, unless they are people of integrity.

Give thanks for a sense of honor. It is something that cannot be taken from you – it can only be lost by your own actions. Say what you are going to do, and do it. Stand by your decisions. Never make excuses. Be truthful. Admit your errors, and correct them. Always listen to the other person’s side of the story. Fulfill your obligations.

Give thanks for love. Science wants to define it as chemical or electromagnetic interactions, but love is not a passively defined world of jumping molecules, not an unconscious event. Love is dynamic, awake, striving to grow, aware. Look for love in your life, and be aware it has many faces. There is the love that two people share. A person can love their pet. You may love a hobby, your career or any number of things. Love can be physical, spiritual, mental. Love is important – it is the bond that unites each individual to the special nature of creation, that links your inner being with the essence of life. Cultivate love and understand its many-sided nature.

Give thanks for pain, hatred, anger, lust, and every other bad emotion. Without ugliness there would be no striving for, nor appreciation of, beauty. The fact that evil exists in the world (or rather, the fact that humans elect to create evil) gives good souls a higher purpose – to confront such evil and either influence it, or eliminate it. We can give thanks for the good things in this life because evil things stand in stark contrast, and we recognize that we are in a constant battle. As Job says in the Old Testament, “Life is a warfare” because, both inside ourselves and out, we are engaged in a constant strife between good and evil. The classic imagery of a good angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, both talking to the person, is an apt metaphor for each of us – we must “choose wisely” (to return to an earlier topic) and, in so doing, be thankful that we have the inner strength to make the right choices.

Give thanks for kindness, compassion, grace, and dignity. We are faced, in today’s world, with incredible barbarism, which the dictionary defines as “An act, trait, or custom characterized by ignorance or crudity.” Our response to barbarism defines who we are as individuals. You cannot stand idly by while barbarians invade our world and corrupt it with all those things which one cannot give thanks for. In the face of such mindless evil you must stand firm, and the power of your convictions – your grace and dignity – will reach out to even the darkest heart of any barbarian and open their minds to other possibilities. Or, give you the strength to do what is necessary to confront and defeat that evil.

Finally, give thanks for the incredible variety and multitude of attitudes, beliefs, faiths, ethnicity, political views, clothing styles, and every other thing which makes us unique, yet allows us to live and work together. Life is glorious because there is so much that is unique. Yet we cannot be fooled by this – we give thanks for this because we discern, when all is said and done, that despite the other person’s “differentness” (be it color of skin, language, religious beliefs, or anything) we can still manage to achieve a unity of spirit by acceptance of those very differences.

But in saying this, I must make a proviso – the barbarians of this world do not take this uniqueness as a strength, but as a weakness, and they would destroy all that does not match their own barbaric views. It is their barbaric obsession with bland, mindless, uniformity of thought, action and appearance that will be their undoing. So give thanks for the other person’s differences and rejoice that we can see, in such differences, a pathway to success for each of us.

Last – but certainly not least – give thanks to the “All”: to G_d, Allah, Shiva, Jehovah – no matter how one may consider that definition. That is to say, give thanks that our existence – while seemingly within in our control – still relies on forces and powers beyond our current ability to grasp and understand. The mystery of existence. I’m thankful there is something rather than nothing.

Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and so forth – there are many conceptions, ideas, formulations, testaments for this unknown. Whether you acknowledge them all – or none of them – is a personal choice, but you should still be thankful for the Totality of the All which encompasses the Universe.

You are part of it, regardless of what you believe.

No matter what you believe, if you strive to achieve those highest ends – kindness, compassion, honor, integrity, love, virtue – you are being truly thankful for the life you have been given.

Happy Thanksgiving; and beyond…