There is always a lot to beware of in a world where psychopaths, more focused on power over others than most, hold a lot of power over the rest of us. Beware of those who repeatedly lie to win arguments, elections, discussions of who needs to be ostracized, rounded up, roughed up and why. Beware of smug certainty, inchoate anger, apathy, depression. Beware of anyone who shows you they’re incapable of ever being wrong, who blame you and always fight you to the death.

On the other hand, take care to appreciate the things in your life you are grateful for. If you have a talent that allows you to spend time in a special zone — be thankful as you enjoy it. If you gain an insight that helps free you from a painful cycle you’ve been trapped in, gratefulness is the proper feeling to have about it. If you have one person in your life who you can share your deepest feelings with, you are very lucky and Thanksgiving is the right day, as is every other day, to consciously feel appreciation for that great blessing.

I surprised myself a few weeks ago, during a discussion of my numerous, interlocking medical problems, any one of which can find me in an emergency room if not treated skillfully and soon, by expressing gratefulness. An overwhelming appreciation of good fortune, particularly amid hard luck and trouble, itself is something to be grateful for.

I’m grateful to find myself grateful.

It’s always worth a few moments to take a short inventory of the blessings in your life, no matter what horrors you are facing — particularly when you’re facing monsters, actually. The miraculous, precious, fleeting nature of life is worth considering from time to time, and being very grateful for.