I am grateful to be alive

Everyone has had a near miss they barely registered. A step back from a kerb. A car out of nowhere. Something caught early by accident. Most of us tell it as an anecdote for a week and then stop.

Being alive is the condition sitting underneath every other item on the list, and it goes undiscussed precisely because it is assumed.

There is no obligation to feel amazed about it. It is enough to notice, once, on a normal Thursday, that the whole day is happening because you are here for it.

The tea. The noise outside. The person you will speak to at six.