With history piling up so fast, almost every day is the anniversary of something awful.
-- Joe Brainard

"History" is mostly a record of awful events - war, famine conspiracy, oppression, betrayal. But surely, every day is equally the anniversary of something wonderful. It's all in how you look at it.

Perhaps a calendar of wonderful anniversaries would be an antidote to depression: this is the day I first heard tender words from someone dear; this is the day I stopped smoking; ten years ago on this day I committed myself to a program of positive living and spiritual growth.

Keeping such a calendar, even for a short time, gives us a record of spiritual progress. Even to be able to say, "How different I am from what I was five years ago" can be a truly cheering thing. Why let the tyranny of history depress our spirits? Let's make our own.

I will treasure the private record; the public one will keep track of disasters.