By Alesha Damerville

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS – In a world of constantly flowing energy, it's easy to take on the negative, even when trying not to. Tensions are high regarding everything from politics to climate change and wildfires – there is a lot of opportunity to see the bad and forget the good. 

This can be seen in its strongest form on social media. After several weeks of seeing nearly exclusively negative posts on my Facebook feed, I asked myself how I could personally contribute to breaking up the hate. 

How do we defeat hate? With love, appreciation and gratitude. 

My goal with this blog post is to give all of us reasons to be grateful – it's easy at times to forget.

1. It's been an epic snow year so far in Steamboat. The winters here can be hit or miss, and we’ve been blessed with good snow the last two years.

2. The good folks running the plows all winter have continued to do an excellent job keeping our streets clean and safe for locals and visitors.

3. Howelsen Hill offers free skiing/snowboarding every Sunday.

4. Snowshoeing. If you haven't tried it, get out there. Snowshoeing isn't much of a challenge, but it allows you get out and play in nature, which is incredibly healing.

5. WinterWonderGrass is approaching. Steamboat is a close-knit community, and it shows during this epic three-day event focused around good music, good beer, love for your fellow man and love for the planet.

6. The annual free concert series at the base of Steamboat Resort starts next week. What's better than free music? 

7. Good health. Healthy family members, healthy pets … heck, even healthy plants. Any good health is reason to smile. 

8. Winter Carnival is approaching. The spirit of community always has an uplifting quality – pair that with one of the best fireworks shows in the country, kids being pulled on skis by horses and incredibly well-designed snow sculptures. This is one week in Routt County you don’t want to miss. 

9. The art scene in the valley is flourishing. Steamboat Creates will host the Colorado Creative Industries Summit this spring. 

10. Affordable shuttles to and from Denver are now a thing, thanks to the Snowstang service, which only charges $20 each way.