[Rant] Blessings

Amid all my whining over the last couple of months I have tried to keep in mind how immeasurably lucky I am. One side effect of disagreeing with much of the pandemic reaction -- and much of everything in the world, for that matter -- is that people think you are complaining about your own life. Nothing could be further from the truth for me.

• I have suffered no financial difficulty yet.
• I can work almost seamlessly from home.
• The work I do hasn't taken a huge hit in demand so I am under no urgent risk of losing my job.
• In fact, I'm saving money -- lighter travel expenses, no gym membership, gas purchases down -- I even refinanced my house thanks to the drop in interest rates.
• Even my retirement savings, which I fretted for in the initial market crash, has recovered to almost where it was before.
• I've been able to stay active.
• I've gained a real appreciation for my home, as much as it tasks me.
• I live in a beautiful, upscale, semi-rural area of the sort most people only dream of.
• My home office has a window, my office office doesn't.
• I am amazed at the amount of wildlife surrounding me -- deer, bunnies, chipmunks, woodchucks, toads, snakes, and turkeys have wandered through my backyard, most knocking on the glass to my office window in curiosity.
• Nearby I have seen beautiful cranes, vultures, and even a bald eagle. I have heard foxes yapping in the night. Big, striking black and white dragonflies buzz around everywhere. My flowers are swamped with bumble bees.
• There are probably about a mile or two of maintained trails in my neighborhood that wind through wooded areas and wetlands. I have been going for frequent walks, a thing I never used to do.
• My options for outdoor recreation are equally wonderful. There are endless trails, paved and unpaved for running, roads paved and unpaved for biking, lakes for swimming. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface -- all within a short drive.

Oh sure, I could list the annoyances and disappointments, but they would be small in comparison. I could also recite my substantial fears for the future, but they would all be speculative.

The ancient advice to count your blessings hasn't survived the centuries for nothing. It's a good thing to do. Often. Like, every time you open Twitter.