Dear readers,

I wrote to LPG about six months ago to pass on a challenge that had been put to me not long before that time.  This was the idea that making a note of a few things that you are personally happy to have in your life’s possession each morning, can give a more positive perspective to those days that so many older people see as the continuation of a relatively monotonous existence, that they would just as readily skip living through.   Such a list can give a lift to those readers who are less than excited about the prospect of greeting yet another day because they only see hours of repetition and boredom stretching out in front of them (►►►).                                                              

The challenge is to be able to continue the list every morning without repeating yourself and, in order to do that, I know that I have been provoked to remember so many things that I take for granted and assume I have a right to be able to include.

It occurs to me that, if anyone has taken my advice, their note book should have about six months of daily list entries by now, and however abstract or obscure some of those entries might be, we will have had some help before we are able to include any of them. 

The life that I have had the privilege of living so far is at the top of my list and it occurs to me that each and every one of us has to thank their Mothers and Fathers for that, not to mention God, fate, a scientific accident or whoever you think is responsible for putting you here in the first place.  The view that greets me when I open my curtains in the morning was also one of the first things I included on my list and I have to admit that my next door neighbour’s garden always makes my personal view worth looking at.  His garden, unlike mine always looks perfect, so perhaps he needs my gratitude.   Relatively good health is another thing that I have when I look at my contemporaries, and while I think that I have taken care of myself over the years, I know that my good health is not all down to me.  I also included my children quite early on and they do so much for me which has become even more apparent during this pandemic. 

September 21^st doubles as the International Day of Peace and also World Gratitude Day and I think that, while World peace is really important, we should be more mindful of so many of these celebration days all year round; this being a perfect example.  So, with approximately a week’s notice before this celebration, I would like to offer another challenge and that is that any list writers (or not) examine the good things that you have and thank a few of the people that have helped you to acquire them. 

I hope that LPG posts this message a week in advance of the day so that you have time to send a ‘thank you card’ or two regardless of if you have started the ‘Enrich your Life’ list that I mentioned all that time ago or not.

PK, Telegraph Hill

PK shares some information…

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