Thanks AThousand

Being grateful, in my opinion, means acknowledging that you couldn’t live your life without others—and preferably telling those people as often as you can. I find it to be one of the keys to happiness. As one Benedictine monk put it, “Happiness doesn’t lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.”

This sofa—quite comfy!

Antibiotics, since I might not be on this sofa if not for them. I had pneumonia, and who knows if I would have survived.

And my dog Stella. I find dogs a close second to gratitude in being a shortcut to happiness.

Ezra Cornell. He founded Cornell University, where my parents met. So I wouldn’t exist without him.

Well, maybe he’s not the first person who comes to mind. But he’s on the list.

I always liked the ritual of giving thanks, so I decided to adopt a sort-of prayer of thanksgiving before meals with my family. I say “sort-of prayer” because I’m not very religious. So instead of thanking God, I’d thank some of the people who helped make my meal a reality. I’d say, “I’d like to thank the farmer who grew these tomatoes, and the cashier who rang these groceries up when I checked out.”

And my son, who was 10 at the time, said, “Dad, that’s fine. But it’s also kind of lame. Because those people aren’t here in our apartment. They can’t hear you.”

And I thought, “Hmmm. That’s an interesting idea. What if I traveled the world and thanked everyone I could for their role in my meal?” To simplify it, I changed it to just my coffee. So the farmer, the barista, but also the logo designer, the road paver, the yellow-lines-in-the-road painter, and many others.