[1]
On Friday, I had an off night. Anxiety rippled through me, and it was hard to push aside. My sleep was restless. The next morning, like many Saturday mornings, I went to synagogue for weekly services. Regular readers will know that I belong to an extraordinary Jewish community [2], and it’s one of the anchors that sustains me. Common to most spiritual practices, the liturgy is filled with praise and gratitude. I don’t necessarily connect the gratitude to a divine being. But on this Saturday, the very act of repeatedly and formally expressing thanks completely lifted my mood.
Illustration by Luci Gutiérrez [3]