A handful of things to be grateful about

It might seem, from watching the news lately, that it’s the end of the world as we know it. Freakish weather, unexplained acts of violence, political unrest, and a general craziness that seems to have seeped into the ether.

But there are still a handful of things to be grateful about. Here are a few that have occurred to me, feel free to add your own (come on! I dare you.)

The petrol price has gone down! Which is really just great. Especially seeing as we’re all used to coughing up a lung to pay for a tank of petrol.

It’s December, which means most of us will be getting some time off to rest and recharge our batteries for 2009. And the beginning of any new year always brings with it a dose of hope.

This might not be anyone’s most abundant Christmas, but sometimes having a little less money forces us to be creative and spend better quality time with our families … or find interesting ways around gift-giving, like sharing talents or having a gift lucky draw (which has the ability to be far more fun and a lot more spiteful than it sounds!)

It’s summer! For anyone in Cape Town, this is no small miracle after the winter we had. Longer days, blooming flowers, warm weather, all that good stuff.

Slowly, slowly, the 2010 tide seems to be turning … I’ve heard murmurs, lately, about it actually happening, and happening well. What was that about the hospitality pre-booking being better than Germany at this stage? It’s not even necessarily about 2010, anyway, it’s about all of us investing in a little hope for the future of South Africa, and it feels like it’s finally happening.

So there’s my dose of gratitude this morning. Have you got anything to add?