Yes, I am so grateful for where I am in life despite not making much money and dealing with a chronic illness. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be worse? Absolutely. I choose to take in the moment, and appreciate everything I can. I falter sometimes, but most of the time life is wonderful!

No, I'm too addicted to my rage posts.

Just a bunch of edgy godless sad sacks around here.

I've got the joy of the Lord!

Love this.

We have a family friend who has had a truly awful life, AWFUL. She has been battling one killer cancer after another for 30 years, one of her children is severely disabled, her husband had a major heart attack and they lost their home to foreclosure, and his business went bankrupt, list goes on and on and on.... But to hear this woman talk about it, her life is just one series of miracles after another. She is so content because she "knows" miracles happen all the time, and that she and her family will always be taken care of.

For 20 years I just thought she was crazy (lovable, but crazy) and that her irrational optimism was a Stockholm syndrome-like coping mechanism but now that I'm older myself, I can actually see how her life HAS been hard, but it's ALSO been a wonderful series of incredible miracles, and how awesome would that be, you know? It doesn't come naturally to me, but I've been trying very hard to adopt that mindset myself and, you know what.... Our life is actually getting better in many measurable ways, but on the outside looking in, people feel sorry for us right now because my husband has been blacklisted from his industry, and we are in the process of selling our old house that we lovingly and painstakingly restored to be exactly what we wanted and are having to start over in a much less desirable part of the country. But somehow, this cliched "attitude of gratitude" has found us feeling more hopeful for the future than any of our current external circumstances can possibly warrant, yet here we are. Happy and blessed and grateful to have each other after all we've been through over the past 3 years...

Don't knock it until you try it people.

Not really no. Mostly depressed as fuck and try to think of something besides how I'm a slave or offing myself.

The human condition is to be eternally unhappy unless they are progressing to a greater station, despite already having a greater station than many above basic needs.

...or maybe it's a Western thing; I don't know. In any case, it is unhealthy, but it drives one to be better.

Thanks for this thread, dude. We need some whitepills every now and then.

I always feel like a faggot and a chump trying to be grateful for scraps and general low bar of contentment. It doesnt feel honest to me knowing i want more and settle for less.

Eating is always great tho. For years now just about every meal i think "omg this is the greatest thing ive ever eaten" and feel like euphoria

I think that ungratefulness and taking things for granted is the bedrock of depression.

I have dealt with depression since I was 8 years old (I'm 30 now). I have realized one of the best solutions for my depression was to actively practice gratitude on a daily basis.

I realized that practicing gratitude is the antithesis of "wallowing". It's about proactively deciding to have a thankful, positive attitude about life despite its imperfections, instead of having a negative, ugly, spoiled, ungrateful, victimy, niggery attitude.

Sometimes rage and anger is the correct response. Rage and anger for no reason is entirely different