Even in difficult times, enjoying the blessings of life – column by Pete Golis

Ready or Not. Nineteen days after a divisive election, Thanksgiving approaches. Regardless of whether people are encouraged or disappointed by the election results, there is no point in pretending that Americans are one big happy family.

However, it is worth remembering that other generations have faced more difficult times. We weren’t trapped in the Great Depression, with food lines around the block and one in four Americans out of work. We are not living through a world war in which more than 400,000 Americans will die.

Thanks to advances in health care, we can expect to live 30 years longer than people who lived 125 years ago. Life is also more forgiving. Paved streets and running water, electricity and miracle cures, we cannot count in every way that we have it better than almost everyone who has ever lived.

It doesn’t hurt that we live in California, a place with a mild climate and a better standard of living than most other countries.

Sure, life can be bittersweet, but if we can love and be loved, we sure as hell should be able to count our blessings.

I know. If your favorite candidate doesn’t win, you’re upset. Even if you backed the winner, you’re not sure what the future holds.

We can hold on tight by taking time to count the things we are grateful for—remembering the people we love, the friends in our lives, the food on our tables, the roof over our heads, and the health care workers who will help us when we are sick.

After an election season filled with anxiety and devoid of compassion, we hope you are doing well. There’s a reason psychologists have been asked to offer remedies for the depression and anxiety that have defined this election season.

It may not sound like much, but I am grateful for our early morning walks. Whatever the weather, my wife and I—along with our dog Charlie—walk 3 miles every day. This ritual began as an exercise, but soon turned into something more.

“Good morning,” we said to people we passed by.

And pretty soon we stopped to talk about everything that interested us that day. It could be the weather, or dogs, or travel, or real estate, or home improvement, or hometown news, or plans for the future, or life and death. We share moments, big and small.

Katherine just returned from New York. Michelle and Robert returned from their first trip to Paris. Gail and Cher are happy to have sold their hilltop home and moved to a smaller, more comfortable home.

Rich and Allen move to Thousand Oaks to be near family. Bruce and Loretta move to Santa Cruz for the same reason. Phyllis moved here from Kansas. She takes her granddaughter to school every day.

These aren’t always deep conversations—and they’re not always fun. But they are about people sharing their lives with their neighbors.

One of our friends is recovering from heart surgery. A couple we see almost every day is mourning the recent death of their daughter.

Howard died a few years ago, and Rick died this year, four months after telling us he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

We miss them. After all, there was still a lot to talk about.

So many people we got to know, even in passing: Ian, Nona, Nancy and King, Jim, Paul, Ed and Nancy, Pat, Dave, Rick and Sharon, Mary, Gary and Eleanor, Kathy and Heather, Fred, Margaret and Des, Lloyd and Alice, the guy who washes cars every Saturday, the couple in the blue SUV, the guy in the old Mercedes, the couple with the dog named Bullet, the guy we call the philosopher, the couple with the dog named Maggie and Murphy, owner of Bijou… the list goes on.

Sometimes we know the names of their dogs, but not the names of the people.

If we happen to be walking without the dog, people will ask, “Is Charlie okay?”

The conversations may be brief, but these human connections are important to us, reminding us that we belong to something that is too often missing in modern America—a community of people.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we know that life has moments of joy and moments of despair.

But who isn’t happy to be here?

So take some time this week to hug a loved one, call a friend, and write down all the reasons you’re grateful to be alive.

Keep in mind that people who study this thing called happiness say that the path to contentment begins with our capacity for gratitude.

In this uncertain world, there could never be a better time to celebrate what we have.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat. Write to him at [email protected].

You can send letters to the editor at [email protected].