Anger vs. Gratitude

There’s no shortage of things to be angry about.

The list is just like the universe, ever expanding.

And yet, investing energy in creating an 'anger' list, and then reviewing it regularly, is a lot like staring directly into the Sun.

Sure, you're free to do it, but it’s worse than unproductive.

It’s self-destructive.

The flipside?

There’s no shortage of things to be grateful for.

The gratitude list is also like the universe.

Ever expanding.

And there’s no need to even make such a list, all you need to do is simply exist in the world that 99% of the readers of this blog exist in.

Think about your day ahead, you have skills, resources, tools, social connections, safety, stability, systems that work to serve you, to protect you. No none are perfect, but there is so much going your way!

And one of the greatest things about our world is the incredible cooperation of strangers that we each benefit from.

Thousands upon thousands of people you and I will never meet are working, days and nights, to help us live a safer, happier, healthier, longer and more productive life than any generation before us.

Someone keeps the water running.

Someone keeps the lights on.

Someone stocked the grocery store.

Someone maintains the roads.

Someone built the phone in your hand.

Someone grew your food, transported it, kept it safe.

Someone made the medicine.

Someone is standing by to answer a 911 call you hopefully never make.

All of them strangers.

And yet, today, they will cooperate with you anyway.

Which raises questions:

Who will you cooperate with today?

Whose life will you improve?

What can you do today to make the world slightly better for someone else?

How great is this?

This is something to be grateful for, for sure.

DW