Gratitude 2004

It’s a showery Friday New Year’s Eve in San Francisco this year. The time has flown by again — and we are about to turn to a new page.

I remarked to a friend this morning that I’d be happy to see 2004 go. But, then I listened to a wonderful little opinion piece on NPR driving to work this morning about gratitude and, in particular, gratitude journals.

Upon reflection, it’s been a very good year for us personally…we’re healthy, happy, and enjoying life and work. But it’s hard to imagine a more difficult year (2001 comes closest recently, of course) for the world at large. Somehow the tears of rain on the lens of that webcam image struck me as poignantly appropriate.

That being said, we have so much to be grateful for — including the outpouring of support for the relief efforts now underway in south Asia. Let’s hope 2005 can begin by restoring hope and optimism to those so tragically affected by Sunday’s disasters — and that Peace can be at hand soon everywhere else.

[Update: The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Goodbye and Good Riddance to 2004.]