The Gratitude Thread

[tvp2003]

So what are you grateful / thankful for today? And every day?

1. I'm grateful for reasonably good health, both physically and mentally. And not just because I'm a big baby when I get sick or something isn't feeling like it normally does...

2. On the flipside, I'm also thankful for free health care. Go Canada!

3. I'm also grateful for a stable job and career. Feel very fortunate, if not lucky for how things eventually fell into place.

That's just three -- there are many more. Interested to hear yours. Humblebrags will be accepted for today (and today only ), but hopefully we spend more than one or two days a year having gratitude for all the awesome stuff out there...

[White Out 403]

I'm thankful for the health of my kids and wife. I'm thankful that the Jets are back. In that order.

[OutOfTheCube]

I'm thankful for being born in Canada. Basically the safest and most prosperous nation in all of human history.

I did some loose, bad math (not my strong suit) back when we were having kids and figured out that your odds, statistically (based on birth rates worldwide), of being born in Canada are less than 0.1%. So you've already won the lottery being born here, and it's the greatest gift you can give your children, to introduce them to a world where they will always be loved by their parents, always have shelter, never be hungry or thirsty, and have unlimited opportunities to be anything they want. Hundreds of millions of people around the world can only dream of what we have here, what we take for granted every day. So today I am remembering to be thankful for it!

[driveway]

I'm thankful that the choice I made 7 years ago to change careers and move overseas has worked out so well.

It's now been three years of working at one of the best schools in Asia with fantastic kids everyday.

Except that one kid. Not thankful for that one kid.

[jayswin]

Thankful to finally feel a sense of control under mental illness.

Simple activities in a persons day to day that are normal for everyone else sometimes feel like mountains and you let everything around you fall apart to a comedic level.

I don't care if I have to write things down or think about a simple activity a bunch of times to remember, it took a lot to realize that one person's promotion from an $80k to a $100k a year job can be another man's level of personal level of satisfaction and accomplishment at whatever they do.

[ditty]

Thankful to have my family over for Thanksgiving dinner today. My mom is in her mid-seventies and in good health and I am cherishing these times together.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I'm not into gratefulness.

[Party Elephant]

Today I had a workplace accident that required a hospital visit. I'm thankful I live somewhere (while not a citizen yet) where I can go to a hospital, see a doctor, get an x ray and treatment all within an afternoon and not have to pay a cent for it.

[CaptainCrunch]

Suprisingly, I'm not feeling a lot of gratitude right now.

[JohnnyB]

I'm grateful for my wife. Had a pretty scary accident recently with her not wearing a helmet while cycling and it really shook me. I have always been appreciative of the type of person she is, but that incident made me feel I need to be more appreciative of the potentially limited time we have together to enjoy life. I'm grateful that she has recovered well and we still have more of that time in front of us.

[Buff]

Thankfully to have a good thanksgiving dinner with my wife's family. Unfortunately it required her sister to no-show, but I'm thankful for a good day. Also so thankful that everybody else in the family feels the same way and I'm not the only jerk.

Thankful for another year to spend thanksgiving with my parents. My dad may have dementia/Alzheimer's and I'm glad to spend time with him while he's still in a good frame of mind.

I'm thankful that my kids got to know all four of their grandparents. I didn't. I only got to know one grandpa. I'm thankful for my parents former neighbors for claiming me as their grandson so I could have grandparents. I miss them but I'm thankful that I had grandparents to miss.

I'm thankful for the health I have. I may have diabetes, but I can still play sports, play with my kids, do anything I could do before diagnosis, and now knowing my diagnosis I'm taking better care of myself so I don't die 20 or 30 years too soon.. Well at least I'm happy with my odds.

I'm thankful for everything in my life. Job, cars, pets, house, friends, kids and wife. I may gripe about many things but truly, everything is good.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by driveway

I'm thankful that the choice I made 7 years ago to change careers and move overseas has worked out so well.

It's now been three years of working at one of the best schools in Asia with fantastic kids everyday.

Except that one kid. Not thankful for that one kid.

Its Kevin isnt it? Goddamned Kevin....

[Huntingwhale]

- I'm grateful to have a healthy family, including a Grandmother who came back from the brink of death around Christmas to be with us to this day. She's not all mentally there as her dementia has taken a toll. But she's mobile, talkative and joins us for family events. Most of the family honestly thought she would be gone by now. But her recovery has been incredible.

- Not a day goes by where I'm not grateful to be born and live in Canada. I see the #### show down in the States and I'm grateful I'm not a part of that. I was lucky enough to take 2 trips to Europe this summer and see some amazing places. But coming back to Canada I always am appreciative of how things are done here. The stability of government. The infrastructure and social resources we have in place. The kindness and generosity of most people. It's unlike most other places in the world just how good most of us have it here.

- I am lucky to have an amazing new gf who is not only incredibly hot and good looking, but has a good head on her shoulders and is very smart/educated. We have many similar interests and it's a great fit for both of us.

- I'm lucky and grateful to have kept my job throughout the past couple of years during a hard economic time where many people lost theirs, especially in my industry.

- I'm happy to be seeing a skilled chiropractor who has been able to help correct my lingering back issues, to the point where I am relatively pain free now. My only regret is not knowing about him sooner.

- I'm grateful my parents have finally become grandparents, and they have another on the way. It's cool and fun that I'm an uncle. But really, seeing the joy on my parent's faces every time they are with their granddaughter is pretty special. They are also both pretty young grandparents, so they'll be able to go and see a lot of places together while their grandkids grow up.

[Flacker]

I am thankful for an amazing, supportive family.

I am going through a difficult breakup (for me anyway) right now, and it has been an amazing comfort to have the support of my family. I was able to enjoy a great meal with people that love me unconditionally. For them, I can never express enough gratitude.

I also recently lost my father after a long struggle with Alzheimer's/Dementia, and the way my family came together to support each other (without any stress-induced drama), makes me extremely proud.

[Bleeding Red]

The guy who lived biblically went and personally thanked the 1,000 people who were involved in getting him hi morning coffee - from farmers to baristas.


Thanks Joe for this cuppa joe!



Of interest in the article - "Along the way, he learned that gratitude isn’t just a nice gesture for the recipient — scientific research show it’s healthy for the thanker, too. A study in Scientific American found that gratitude is the single best predictor of well-being and good relationships. Psychological research shows that gratitude can lift depression, improve our diet, help heart patients recover quicker and lead to overall greater kindness and happiness."


I'm just grateful things aren't worse.

[troutman]

Thank you India