I was involved in a hit-and-run accident with what I assume to be an illegal immigrant. ***This is NOT meant to be a political post. These are just facts that happened to me that I am trying to process in my own personal emotional experience as I go through this 30-day gratitude challenge. The left lane was shut down due to construction and so I started to merge into the right lane. I had already merged in front of a sedan when suddenly appeared a small beat-up box truck driving on the shoulder next to me. I looked at the driver straight in the eyes as he yelled at me with angry hand gestures, I guess he wanted me to let him in. I didn't. There was nowhere for me to go since the left lane was closed. Then SMASH! My back window shattered as the front of the box truck struck me on the right rear, exploding glass all over my car. He got off at that exit in a hurry, so I quickly exited and followed him, thinking we were going to pull over. He didn't. So I followed him as he swerved in and out of traffic, on and off the freeway a couple times. Finally I was able to pull up alongside him with my window down. I yelled over the road noise, "Pull over! You hit me, we need to exchange information!" He threw me more angry hand gestures. So I repeated "Pull over!" He called back, "No English." So I yelled back, "Insurance!" And he darted back off the freeway. I followed him for another couple miles while I took pictures of the license plate and his face, called the police, etc. I've been in many accidents before, even a couple other hit-and-runs, no big deal. But this made me really upset because of the way this person treated me – angrily yelling at me with inappropriate hand gestures before and after he struck my car. As if I'm a terrible person for not letting him in. "Where do I not want to be grateful and how can I bring appreciation to that area..." (Israel, 75). You might be thinking, "Why be grateful for such a crappy experience?" Well... I'm taking this challenge seriously. I want to understand John's journey by bringing gratitude even to the painful things that make me upset, angry, resentful.

A parable about gratitude... Still, She Shines In a quiet village between the mountains and the plains, an unassuming young woman served her community with quiet consistency. She mended clothes for neighbors who couldn’t afford new ones. She prepared and delivered meals to those recovering from illness. She watched over children when parents needed a break or had to work late. She didn’t keep score—she just tried to help wherever help was needed. Most of the time, she was content knowing she was making a difference—whether or not anyone said it out loud. But lately, a question had crept in. Not because people were unkind or ungrateful—just distracted, busy, going through their days. The smiles had faded. The thank-yous had thinned. And she found herself wondering: Does this really matter? One evening, feeling off-center and unsure, she stood at the edge of the village path, hesitating. Her grandmother’s cottage wasn’t far—just a short walk through the trees—but tonight, even that felt like a quiet admission: something inside her needed steadying. She almost turned back - told herself she was fine and didn’t need to bother anyone with something so small or vague. But something in her chest tugged forward. And so, with a soft exhale, she began walking the winding path to her grandmother’s cottage on the edge of the village. They sat by the fire, wrapped in a silence that didn’t feel empty. After a while, the young woman spoke. “I’ve been doing what I always do. But lately… I’m not sure if anyone notices. Or if it even matters.” Her grandmother stirred the fire, then nodded toward the window, where the last light stretched across the hills. “What gives warmth, helps things grow, and shows up every day—even when most people don’t stop to appreciate it?” The young woman followed her gaze. “The sun.” Her grandmother smiled. “Exactly. Rarely do people stop and appreciate the sun. But we count on it. The sun doesn’t shine for applause. The sun shines because that’s what the sun does. And because people know you, and they know your heart, they’ve come to count on you in the same way—because your nature is to

I wrote a card to an old friend from high school. His response blew me away. He gathered 50 images of me and our group of friends in high school, printed them on 4x6, and sent me the whole bunch with a handwritten note. The energy I'm putting out there is come back! And what a wonderful gift: a glimpse into another perspective of this thing I've created called "me." Looking back on who I was, who I am now, how much I've grown, am I who/where I thought I'd be... would my teenage self be proud of me? Next on my gratitude list: my teenage self.

Just wondering if anybody has ever thrown away the card they just wrote because you realized what you wrote was dumb or inauthentic...? What do you do in this instance? Is the goal/quantity more important than the quality?

I've been putting my cards off until the evening when everything is settled for the day. Which has been working, but keeping me up a bit later than I'd like. I'm going to start getting them done earlier in the day when I have more creative juices flowing. Also, last nights card will remain a bit of a surprise for purposes to explain later ;-)