My Six Words of Gratitude

Recently the New York Times issued a challenge to its readers to “Tell Us What You’re Thankful for, in Six Words.” While I’m not big on entering contests or competing for space in big city newspapers, the challenge did get me thinking. If I had to say what I am thankful for in 2020, my six words would be these:

I am grateful for the Internet.

Now, before you shake your head and stop reading, hear me out. I realize that some see the Internet (or the worldwide web, if you prefer) as more a curse than a blessing, and I am certainly grateful for many other things: my family, my health, what I have left of my mental faculties, the roof over my head, and food on the table, to name a few.

But as a person who was alive before the invention of the Internet, and well before most of the world had access to it, I believe it is the single greatest invention of my lifetime. During this crazy past year, I don’t know if I could have lived (literally) without it.

All of the things I mentioned above, from familial relationships to the food on my table, have been greatly influenced by the Internet. Here are some examples from just the past year:

• When one of my parents became seriously ill during the pandemic, our family gathered via frequent video chats to get updates on her condition.
• When I had a severe bout of asthma last spring, I was able to get the prescriptions I needed after a telehealth visit with my doctor.
• I had access to current reporting on the status of the pandemic in my county, state, the US, the world, at any time of day or night from multiple accredited sources.
• I was able to confirm online that my election ballot had been received and processed.
• I listened to soothing, meditative music online whenever I was stressed.
• I read books online and met with my Book Club via Zoom.
• Whenever I wanted to learn how to build a compost bin, clean out my wood stove, build a raised bed, learn how to grow sweet potatoes, or prune an apple tree, I watched free step-by-step video instructions on how to do it.
• I made hundreds of new friends on social media and reconnected with many old friends.
• When it became obvious there would be only two of us at the Thanksgiving table this year, I found recipes online for scaled down versions of all my holiday favorites, and,
• Whenever I wrote one of these blogs, I did all my research online and posted these essays on my very own website, viewed in countries all over the world.

Could we have survived the past year without the Internet? Possibly. But I can tell you, having lived in the dark ages before the Internet, that everything happens so much faster now because we are all connected. Information travels at speeds that were unfathomable in 1983, back when the “network of networks” was first created, and while there are downsides to this technology, like cyber bullying and rumor mongering, there are plenty of upsides as well. Each of us has the ability to use it for good or ill.

So this Thanksgiving, I will say a prayer of thanks to the dozens of scientists, engineers, and programmers who made the “information superhighway” accessible to me and you.

How about you? What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Please leave a comment—I’d love to hear from you!

Moxie Gardiner is a writer and gardener who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates and practices yoga. She is almost ready to publish her first novel, set in Buffalo.