Gratitude Is My Attitude

I have a friend who frequently says: “Gratitude is my attitude.”  It’s a great perspective to have on life, and one that I’m especially feeling these days regarding The Discovery Orchestra.  It is frankly a miracle that our small non-profit survived the Covid pandemic!   But is not an unexplainable miracle.

We are truly blessed to have an incredible staff in Executive Director Virginia Johnston, External Relations Director Elliot Dee, retiring Administrative Director Diane Lester, Social Media Director Laura Ward, and newly appointed Technical Manager Christine Thorsen and Administrative Manager Michael Avagliano. Equally important to the survival of The Discovery Orchestra during these challenging times have been our Board officers – President Stephen Reynolds, Secretary Rachel Weinberger, Treasurer David Williams, Trustees Caitlin Haughey, Susan Head, Mary Horn, Trisha Mahoney and retiring Trustee Sandra Braddy-Hall.  And, of course, our many donors and benefactors played a major role in our arriving at the start of our 35th season unscathed and in the black!  My personal gratitude for all of these individuals lays beyond my ability to express in words.

But returning to my friend’s saying “Gratitude is my attitude,” it’s not just a glib platitude. He makes it a daily practice to consult a written list of aspects of his life for which he is grateful.  I endeavor to do this too, but am not quite as faithful on a daily basis.   Needless to say, my wife Marcia, my health, life itself and music are at the top of my list.  When everything seemed so gloomy during the past year and a half, and one day merged into the next with no definition, consulting my gratitude list saved me from what might have otherwise been a really down day.

And as my friend says, “Even if you don’t think it will work, do it anyway. Maintain and read your gratitude list!”   We all have so much for which to be grateful.