Appreciate it.

This originally appeared on my Medium in 2017.

I’ve been to four funerals this year. They were all amazing people who were parents and grandparents of my close friends. I did as much as I physically could to help my friends through this tough time, but I know I couldn’t begin to imagine how hard it was.

What was amazing to me is that all my friends came out stronger than they were before. I, on the other hand, realized I took so much of my blessings for granted. I’ve gotten so caught up with the day-to-day stress of life that I rarely stepped back and realized how lucky I am for a healthy family, among many, many, other things.

So, I’ve tried my best to practice gratitude twice a day. A lot has been written about this of late, but my hope is that piling onto it will get one more person to do it.

What can you do? Call someone you love and tell them. Write someone a thank you note. Or just smile.