The past year has been a terrifying one, full of mass shootings, devastating fires and hurricanes and dire warnings about global warming. On top of all that, we Americans are more divided by our political views than at any time in my life. But as the world begins a new circuit around the sun, I find many reasons to feel encouraged and grateful. Here’s my top-10 list of things to be thankful for:

10. The Portland teenagers who volunteer to shovel out their elderly neighbors after snowstorms. I’ve seen them out before dawn, chatting cheerfully as they fling snow out of driveways before heading to school. Portland’s free shoveling effort is just one reminder that we live in a caring community.

9. The immigrant artists, dancers, musicians and writers from around the world who have chosen to live here and now share their talents with us, enriching the culture of southern Maine. And then there are the immigrant food businesses that sell everything from falafel to pho.

8. City workers. All of them, from the helpful people at Riverside Recycling Center to the public works administrator who answered my questions about the new federal flood zone map. A City Council candidate tried to win my vote this fall by promising that he would make City Hall responsive. That’s already happening, thanks to the efforts of many dedicated employees.

7. State workers. They have survived eight demoralizing years under a chief executive who slashed staff and belittled the importance of their work. Over the years, Maine state workers have helped me with everything from resolving consumer complaints to getting a child care subsidy for a single mother. Sure, not every state worker is as accessible or helpful as we might like – but overall, they do a good job for far too little pay.

6. Everyone who is working for universal background checks on gun sales and a ban on the private use of military weapons. After 40 years of advocating on this issue, I have all but given up on tightening our country’s gun laws. I am grateful for the energy coming from youthful activists like those from Parkland, Florida.

5. Everyone who recycles, uses renewable energy and walks, bikes or takes buses rather than driving in order to protect our environment. Also, the organizations that lead those efforts, and the politicians who ask us to make sacrifices on behalf of the planet.

4. Maine Equal Justice Partners, for their dogged efforts to ensure that as many as 80,000 Mainers finally will get health insurance, despite Gov. LePage’s ongoing efforts to stop the Medicaid expansion approved by Maine voters.

3. The hundreds of lawyers who volunteer their time to handle Maine asylum cases, and the legal organizations that support their efforts. Southern Maine’s economy has been helped in a major way by the arrival of immigrant workers. Their ability to stay in the U.S. depends largely on the work of those lawyers.

2. The young people who choose to live in Maine and add to our state’s economy, even though they could make more money elsewhere. (I hope my daughters in Seattle and New York City are listening.) Whether you are nurses or auto mechanics, child care workers, organic farmers or network engineers, we need you. I believe you will find, as I have, the many rewards of living here.

1. The sun. Willie Nelson crooned that the “lucky old sun ain’t got nothing to do but roll around heaven all day.” I say, God bless the sun for sharing its glory with us every day. No matter how bleak the news, your spirits will be lifted by watching the sunrise unfold at Back Cove. The colder the weather, the more spectacular the sight of another day beginning on our easternmost corner of the continent.