Good Days

“And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations… well, I have really good days.”
— Ray Wylie Hubbard

As I travel down these highways, the feeling of gratitude often overwhelms me, sometimes enough to bring tears to my eyes.

There are moments out on the road when I feel like the luckiest man alive. I get to ride this motorcycle through some of the most beautiful parts of this country — from the dramatic, craggy coastline of the Pacific Coast, to the vast farmlands of the Midwest, to what has become one of my favorite places anywhere: the Ozarks.

The Ozarks surprised me. Rolling mountains covered in deep green forests, rugged limestone cliffs, jagged rock formations pushing through the earth everywhere you look. Wild and beautiful country. The kind of place that reminds you the world was here long before us and will be here long after.

And somewhere out there, between the miles, the engine noise, and the solitude inside my helmet, I sometimes forget about the cancer.

I forget about the Type 1 diabetes that came with it. I forget about the neuropathy, the digestive issues, the routine doctor visits, and the unexpected hospital stays. For a little while, I even forget how this story eventually ends.

The road gives me that.

A lot of times while I ride, I think about my father teaching me how to ride motorcycles when I was a young boy. He had an old dirt bike he kept in the garage, and looking back now, I realize it may have been one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me.

I silently thank him often.

And I think maybe the best way I can show that gratitude is by continuing to ride… and by sharing these experiences with all of you.

A very good friend of mine recently shared her daily gratitude practice with me, and I wanted to pass it along.

Keep a pen and paper beside your bed. When you wake up in the morning, write down three things you are grateful for. Spend a little time reflecting on them. Then burn the paper to ashes.

What I love about this practice is that it blends modern positive psychology with something much older and more symbolic.

Researchers have found that regularly writing down things we are grateful for can improve mood, resilience, and overall outlook. But the burning of the paper comes from much older traditions — practices rooted in symbolism, ritual, and release, found in everything from Catholicism to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Western mystical traditions.

Burning the paper transforms the act from simple record-keeping into an experience.

Almost like saying:

“I acknowledge this gift fully in this moment.”