I came across a blog this week entitled “The The 31 Benefits of Gratitude You Didn’t Know About.” Amit Amin discovered multiple personal benefits, many of them health benefits, to practicing gratitude in his daily life. His observations are helpful, but I found one that was unexpected, given his worldview. He has found that gratitude has increased his sense of the spiritual. This surprised him for, as he admits, “I am irreligious, and have found gratitude practices to make my spiritual position difficult – those moments when I feel intense gratitude make me want to believe in a benevolent God. My solution has been to re-direct my feelings towards Lady Luck [italics mine].” What a very

Like many others, I have come to realize that sitting down for extended periods each day is less than ideal, so two months ago I experimented with standing at my desk. I put my laptop on a crate and put the crate on top of my desk. After four weeks, I liked it so much I decided to get myself a “varidesk.” It’s a height-adjustable desk that converts a normal sit down desk into a standing desk. I even sprung for an “activemat” that encourages movement and stretching while you stand. As someone with diabetes, standing also helps to increase my metabolism and glucose control, which is vital for me. I’ve noticed that the soreness in my legs and lower back are gone, and I’m more alert. I k

As I was driving to work this morning, I happened to turn on the radio to a particular Classic Rock station as three DJ’s were discussing their colleague’s final seconds as a broadcaster. After a lifetime of radio, he was about to go off the air and into retirement. The conversation was accompanied by some laughs, words of appreciation, post-career plans, a final word of goodbye; and then his friends cued up “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen. As I listened for that brief moment, I realized that I knew nothing about this DJ or his history, but I felt privileged in that moment to have turned on the radio, and be part of the audience that heard his farewell address. I had no context, no fam