Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. ~ Denis Waitely

I’m wasted tired tonight, a bout of insomnia left me awake until 5AM this morning. I’m feeling sluggish and sick, I’ve got a bit of a sore throat and just generally feel out of it. So in terms of producing a new post tonight, there just isn’t much energy. So, a somewhat random array of things I’m grateful for and happy about tonight.

First, my niece and her fourteen and under softball team took third place in a national softball tournament. I’m so incredibly proud of her, she played well and her team had an amazing run!

My friend Marv, I’ll be interviewing him this week for a future post, recently turned 90, the same week he called me up looking for a job. Don’t tell me kids don’t want to work these days.

My new blog Alienbluebook.com is taking off, in just two months I’m seeing double to the hit rate of this blog that I’ve been writing for 13 years.

One of my closest friends did something amazingly altruistic this past week. He donated his kidney to his sister, while we all like to think we are that person, I wonder how many of us truly are that giving. Where kidneys are concerned I’m in good shape, a certain sibling to remain nameless actually has three, and I claimed the extra one decades ago.

Tonight for dinner I settled into what is becoming my Sunday night tradition in my new place. Having salad for dinner with all of the components coming from my little patio garden. Tonight along with the dill, basil, mint, cilantro and assorted lettuces I also had two small cucumbers. Very little makes me happier than eating food I grew.

This weekend I also started the full on planning process for leaving California in 18 months and moving east, as well as taking on the challenge of completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. My first attempt left me about 1200 miles short, but enough for a book, Appalachian Trail Happiness. Time to add those 1200 to the 1000 I’ve already done.

Finally tonight, I’m grateful for all the good books that exist. Currently reading Octavia Butler’s Oankali series, she’s a really amazing writer. Parable of the Sower and Fledgling are two other amazing books by her. I’ve also just read Hugh Howey’s Wool series, very good.

Take a minute tonight and think back on what you’re grateful for and what made you happy this week and have a happy day my friends. ~ Rev Kane