Skip to main content

Every Day a #Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

Hakone Open Air Museum

Thankfulness

This week, my back gave out.

I’ve been putting in 18-hour days for a while, except for a few days in between, so my back just up and left.

This has meant a week of lying down.

Only once my health packed up did I remember I’m not supposed to take it for granted. Each night I thank the universe for its blessings, and today that I’m feeling better, I know I should be more thankful than ever. This year I’ve worked very hard, producing about 500k words in fiction and other writing. Not all those words are published, but I’m happy having written all of them.

So in the season of Thanksgiving, here’s mine. I’m thankful for my health, my family, my writing, and for you, my blog friends. You’ve supported me more than you know.

How about you? What are you thankful for? Do you take your health for granted sometimes? How has your life, reading, writing been this year?

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

64 Comments

  • Great post Damyanti. I have been keeping a gratitude diary on my personal facebook page – every day I find something to celebrate. It has been a wonderful way to appreciate life more… It is so important to find joy where you can.

  • My health is ‘shady’ but not because I have taken it for granted…. I am thankful for life, in spite of that, and family and friends who love and support me.

    Oh — and I’m thankful for the rainy season here in JA which has brought an end to the drought of 2015. Here’s to green foliage and budding stumps. 🙂

  • Every time my health fails me (which is too often with my myriad chronic stuff), I am thankful for its return. One of life’s amazing feelings is a day without a headache. Oh I love that!

  • I’m thankful for all the things you say. Also thankful where I live 🙂 I love it.

  • Arun says:

    Nice post. I am thankful for my wonderful family and thankful to the god for giving me a peaceful life so far.

  • luckyjc007 says:

    I’m thankful for my family, friends, and having the ability to touch, move, smell, taste, see, hear, and balance. I’m also thankful for the life I have had so far and the opportunities I’ve had and especially thankful that I live in a free country!

  • RonniN says:

    I am thankful for a family that loves me, no matter what…especially my Dad, with whom I’ve not always seen eye-to-eye over the years. We’ve come to realize how precious our time is together, no matter how short or long. He has had eye problems and other health issues, and it hasn’t been easy for him. And I’m grateful for my daughter, who is quickly becoming a woman, and a confidant. I’m so proud of her…she just started her first real job, is doing better in school, and has a boyfriend who is good to her. She struggles with scoliosis pain, but deals with it like a trooper daily. I just turned 50, a real milestone for females in my family. I have had some mild health issues, but I’m trying to stay on top of them, and improve my eating habits, and mindfulness of body/mind connections. I do have a tendency to take my health for granted, but that is no longer a luxury I can afford. My writing has been sporadic, as I am busy teaching and may be returning to college for an MA…financially and personally a little scary, but a risk I’m ready to take. I’ve been reading a lot more, as I find more and more inspiration there…my current favorites are Native American-themed mysteries. I just read an excellent one called the Bone Seeker, an Edie Kiglatuk Mystery, by MJ McGrath. Peace to everyone!

  • I am thankful. There are too many things to list, but I do know I am blessed and I like that we stop to realize that. Something we need to do a lot more often. So glad you are feeling better!

  • george-b says:

    “So in the season of Thanksgiving, here’s mine. I’m thankful for my health, my family, my writing, and for you, my blog friends. You’ve supported me more than you know.”

    Very true… thanks for inspiration!

  • I am so sorry your back is giving you grief – and hope it settles soon.
    I am grateful for so many things. Love and laughter. Health I don’t have, but things could be a LOT worse.
    Thanks for your visit to my blog.

    • It’s a little better, thankyou. MY health has gotten in the way of blogging, but like you say, it could really be a lot worse. Thanks for returning the visit!

  • I’ve been a bit down this Thanksgiving week-been sick, back issues and hoping I don’t give whatever I have to my elderly mother in law. But I have an awful lot to be thankful for.-

  • dolorah says:

    That’s a lot of words. I too am grateful for my health, and family and friends.

  • Eli says:

    I hope you are well now, feeling better.. Some rough incidences the last year has made me more than ever, be grateful for the little things….NOt to take good health and freedom for granted, but to celebrate and feel grateful… I, like you, count my blessings, every day…. Wonderful read:-)

  • Robyn Engel says:

    I’m glad you’re feeling better and I hope the back pains are completely gone. Sometimes, that’s the only thing that wakes us up into gratitude. And posts like this, so thank you. My health and my blog friends top my list of the things I’m most grateful for.

  • bizzy0 says:

    I’m sorry about your back, but glad you’re doing better! I overworked last year and have spent this whole year trying to recover from back issues. I definitely used to take health and mobility for granted. After a year of pain and financial difficulty, I am happy to have a day when I don’t have to plan all my activities around back pain. Take care of yourself!

  • indigobunting says:

    Oh, Damyanti, thinking of you. Back issues are horrible. Take very good care of yourself…

  • aj vosse says:

    Gratitude is such a great elixir!
    We must say thanks to you for all the great information and advice you share so freely here!
    PS – My back gave out about 25 years ago… one gets used to living with it… as best one can!! 😉

  • lexacain says:

    Sorry to hear you’re not well. Unfortunately, in this day and age of multi-tasking and super speed, I know a number of people who’ve over extended and paid for it by getting sick (including me). I really hope you feel better soon and spend a little more time enjoying life instead of working so hard. 🙂

  • “And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will give you more…” Quran 14:7

  • S Maliyekal says:

    Good post. We need to be Thankful for everything. For the beautiful life, the good health, the knowledge, … for the kith and kin… everything…!

  • I know what you mean. Burning the candle at both ends has caught up with me over the years too. 🙂 I’m thankful for the people who’ve enriched my life over the years.

  • Sorry to hear about your back. Take it easy and get better!

  • Every morning, I too remind myself to be grateful for what all I received yet. And it feels great to do so. I do take break from working and blogging, and that really helps me a lot. Am thankful for everything I have, count on literally everything. Cuz all of that shapes my life into something better 🙂

  • It is funny, because the other day I have felt a clear sense of gratitude for what I have. Despite wanting to change many things I felt incredibly grateful for having a home, food and a wonderful girlfriend. It is so easy to take for granted what we have!

  • simonfalk28 says:

    I’m thankful to be in a country that, in the main, lives a level of peace and free speech. Am also thankful for blogs like ‘Daily (W)Rite’. 🙂

  • cabjayson says:

    very thankfull for every seconds in this world. 🙂 hihi thanks to social media we can share and learn somethings. 🙂

  • davidprosser says:

    I’m so sorry about your back. I hope it’s properly recovered now.
    My own particular thanks are for the amazing circle of friends I’ve made in Countries all over the world, my family and that I’m still walking and talking of course.
    xxx Huge Hugs

  • keeneshort says:

    I tend to take most of my life’s eases for granted, especially my access to higher education. I’m thankful I have the opportunity to learn, and I hope to use that education to give back someday.

  • Capt Jill says:

    Sorry to hear about your back Damyanti, I’m glad to hear you’re recovering now.

    I know I don’t think about it often enough, but yesterday being Thanksgiving, I did actually take the time to think of things I’m thankful for. Mostly my friends, the ones here local I spent Thanksgiving dinner with, and all my friends all over the world, who I know from work or my blog.

    I’m thankful for my health (and even tho it’s not as good as I wish it was, as long as it still allows me to pass the USCG physical so I’m allowed to work, I’ll be happy about it).

    I’m thankful that I’ve been able to keep working for as long as I have and was able to save some money before I got laid off, that allows me the freedom to not have to take really bad jobs, I can try to find another decent job and in the meantime explore other options. I am trying to become “joyfully jobless”!

    I’m thankful for the internet that gives me access to the whole world and so much information! I hope it will stay free and not censored so we can all keep using it to it’s full potential.

    I’m thankful to live in a place where there is at least some consideration for people as being individuals and deserving of respect, where the legal system is set up to protect all of our rights and the people are the rulers of the government and not the other way around. I’m thankful to have grown up in a place where individual liberty was something to be protected and even tho that is disappearing, I am still thankful to have taken those principles to heart enough to keep fighting for them even now.

  • shanayatales says:

    Oh yes, I take it for granted all the time. My area of neglect is sleep. I know I should be getting a decent amount, but that is the first thing I compromise on. :/ Hope you feel better soon. Take care.

  • I hope you recover very soon Damyanti. I have had back pain so know what you’re experiencing and give thanks that it has not affected me in awhile. I also give thanks for meeting fantastic people (you included) on the Internet, who have enriched my life with friendships and informative and entertaining blog posts.

  • Laurie Welch says:

    Being that I am in my second month of ‘toe rest’ which really means full body rest, I can relate. I am used to being healthy and active. Who knew an injured middle toe could cause so much drama? But I am on the mend and sincerely thankful. I will never take my toes for granted again!

    In addition, I am very thankful for my eyes to see (read!), my heart to feel, my little condo my dog and friends and family. Simplicity….

    Feel better soon! Btw, I am thankful for your 500k words, too, as I have benefited from many of them!

  • Dan Antion says:

    Health is high on the list, and I’m sorry to hear about your back. I;m glad you’re feeling better and I hope your ood health continues. I am also very thankful for the support the blogging community (especially you) has shown me. Take care D

  • I’m so sorry to read about your back. These things can just creep up on you when you’re concentrating on other things.

    I’m grateful for the people that I love, that I have been blessed to live in a G8 nation and for good health. Those are massive blessings!

  • I want to thanks my Parents, siblings and friends for their love and support. ty for your thoughts mam.

  • Sorry to hear about your back. I am thankful for a successful career transition, for being with my family this year (not somewhere in the Middle East), and for my readers!

  • My sympathy over your back. I know how it can affect your life (I gave up making big sculptures because of mine). Amazingly, twenty years later, I am fine (and very thankful) and it is only bad if I am foolish. Re the garden: gardens can wait. They will grow, one way or another, whatever you do, so only attend to yours when you feel like it.

  • Susan Scott says:

    So sorry to hear about your back Damyanti and hope you’re well on the way to healing. Listen to your body’s messages … I am grateful for so much, good health, family, friends, the blogging world ..

  • Good advice–listen to your body.

    I had an undiagnosed condition that led to a spinal cord injury over six years ago. My wife says I’m a recovering quadriplegic, I like the term. I have many things to be thankful for. Being able to type this comment is one of them.

    Oddly, I’m thankful for the injury too. The experience has taught me to appreciate every day. Good luck with your recovery, Cinda.

  • I’m thankful for a loving God, family, and friends. I am thankful to live in a country where I am free and am thankful for those who have fought for my freedom. I am thankful for books and music because they are easily two of the happiest parts of my day. I’m thankful for this blogging community I decided to join 🙂 Thanks Dee for the great post! I will pray for your back!

  • dweezer19 says:

    I am sending thoughts for a speedy full recovery for you.
    I am sincerely thankful for my next breath, the opportunity to continue life, make of it what I envisioned before my birth and be content with what I am and have. This is not a grandiose expression, for it represents the fact that I cannot look way into the future and plot or plan, leaving myself vulnerable to disappointed and despair. If I live every moment with new clarity, trying to release what has past and not anticipate what may come, then I can enjoy the only moment I feel is real. In this moment I love you and wish for you all that you desire in your life. ? Hugs.

  • Almost Iowa says:

    “500k words in fiction”

    That’s about five times more than I am pumping out. You have wonder whether there is a relation between volume and quality. Athletes like runners speak of this all the time. They call it building a base.

  • TheMonk says:

    Health for granted , we all know how that’s gonna end , don’t we? I learned it in a hard way. And I am thankful that I realized it before too late. So let’s go with old saying “Health is wealth”

  • I am thankful for the great folks I have met through WordPress since I began my writing blog. There truly are some talented and great writers here. I’m thankful to them for sharing their work.

  • monkey thankful for health too. not much can go wrong with sock monkey. but monkey also thankful for all visitor to blog of monkey & for mostly peace & safety where monkey live.

  • I am thankful that I finally found the courage to write; to take it seriously and pursue the dream. I’m grateful for my health, my family and my friends! I’m thankful for books, for the authors that write them to inspire, educate and to entertain. I’m grateful that I live in a safe part of this turbulent globe, always aware that things can change in an instant.

  • Thankful for family and friends 🙂

  • Gyan Akarsh says:

    I am thankful for my backbone in facing failures. I witnessed people quit after a lot fewer failures than mine. I’m really glad I’ve had the courage to keep going on.

    Health is like a trophy for me. I like it and keep it safe. But give it no more attention than once a while to keep off the dust. So… Yes. I take my health for granted, a lot of times.

    My life this year has been full of things competing to bite off my head and somehow I have kept them off till now. Reading was a much better experience with almost 45 different novels, and I started writing only this October! The word count is around 60k, published and unpublished akin.

    Can you share how much you wrote in your first blogging year? I’d like to keep near par!

  • Gyan Akarsh says:

    I am thankful for my backbone in facing failures. I witnessed people quit after a lot few failures than mine. I’m really glad I’ve had the courage to keep going on.

    Health is like a trophy for me. I like it and keep it safe. But give it no more attention than once a while to keep off the dust. So… Yes. I take my health for granted, a lot of times.

    My life this year has been full of things competing to bite off my head and somehow I have kept them off till now. Reading was a much better experience with almost 35 different novels, and I started writing only this october! The word count is around 60k published and unpublished akin.

    Can you share how much did you wrote in your first blogging year? I’d like to keep near par!

  • In light of last night’s post this post Damyanti is so appropriate. I am beyond thankful for the health I enjoyed even though I was not in Florida. I have been praying fervently that my brother’s illness would heal, and even though he is not out of the woods the signs that He is healing him are obvious. Health is essential, and sadly it takes a back to leave sometimes for us to truly appreciate it. May we all live healthy lives to the age of 100.

  • Reblogged this on ugiridharaprasad.

  • I am thankful to be alive. I am on the road to the riches and about to make a serious imprint worldwide. Reading some of the greatest writers ever that are now in heaven. Ladies Prism is coming soon. Stay tuned.

  • thewriteedge says:

    So glad you’re feeling better!

    I’m thankful for all of the writers out there who form this amazing community (including you!) and the level of support everyone gives each other. If I ever doubt my ability to become a successful author, all I have to do is come to the writing community and I find lots of encouragement everywhere. Thanks!

  • ccyager says:

    I am thankful for my medical team, and especially the pulmonologist who figured out what was wrong with my lungs earlier this year. I am thankful for my friends. Without them, I could not have gotten through this year as well as I have — friends who transported me everywhere, helped with laundry, cleaning, and raising money to help pay my bills when I wasn’t working.

    My reading this year has been far more than in previous years, thanks to Goodreads as well as having more time for it. My writing has suffered, however, because of health issues and the lack of concentration they produced. I am only now getting back on track.

    Indeed, do not take your health and physical condition for granted! It’s amazing how quickly it can change everything when something goes wrong! Happy Thanksgiving! Cinda

    • Just like you, I am thankful for my medical team and my loved ones who are helping me get through a second brain tumor. I couldn’t get by without them and I know exactly what you mean, Cinda 🙂