Discussion Gratitude

[Forever Sleep]

Another member was talking about gratitude and the guilt they feel that they ought to feel it for their (relatively) easier life but, don't.

I think gratitude can be a pivitol part of feeling happy and content in life. I can understand why people try to get us to practice it. I also feel like it's something you can't force on someone though.

As a thing though, do you think it is more self serving or, more to do with pleasing others? I think grateful people are much nicer to be around and do things for. It's weird because, I think it's seen as a kind attribute. Is it though? It's not exactly connected to giving necessarily. Just more being happy to take! Maybe that's a very cynical view though. Any thoughts?

 

[avalokitesvara]

For me depression seems to preclude gratitude. At times when I'm "well" I can sometimes be overwhelmed with gratitude for the absolute basics. Having eyes to see, tongue to taste, lungs to breathe. The sight of the sky or the sea or some autumn trees. Let alone if someone does something nice for me or is kind, I become tearfully grateful. However depression seems to completely cut off this facility. I just look at everything blankly, it doesn't connect, I don't feel a personal relationship with anything in the world or anything that happens to me. I can't really tell the difference between something "good" for which someone might feel grateful, or something "bad" for which someone would feel angry or resentful. It's all just has the same null impact.

 

[Pluto]

 

[Mirrory Me]

I am very grateful to this community for bringing up such inspiring topics and offering support to everybody.

 

[star.trip]

First let's define what gratitude is, depending on the language we speak, it can have one connotation or another.

According to the RAE it is a feeling that obliges us to appreciate the benefit or favor that has been done to us or has wanted to do, and to reciprocate it in some way.


On the other hand, according to the Cambridge dictionary the feeling or quality of being grateful.

From here on everyone can have their own differences depending on what they have experienced and how they feel it.

The question is, what do you get out of gratitude? It could be a selfish thing because it could seem like you are waiting for the other person to return the favor you just did for them (to me that is a debt because since I have done this favor for you, it is like I am forcing you to do one for me).
I think that if you do a favor you do it selflessly because you do not expect to receive anything in return. However, many people take it as a "debt" that they must "pay" by returning with another favor.

It can also be seen as a philosophy of life, a person prefers to practice gratitude because he thinks that this way he is happy and that maybe by behaving this way he is more likely to receive something good in life.

I like to be grateful because every interaction with another person is an opportunity to learn (both what you don't want, what you want, what you really need, and what you think you need). I'd rather create good memories than bad ones even though it doesn't always work out.

 

[Adûnâi]

I'm a monkey with no social life, so pardon me my anti-social attitude. But my position is that there is nothing to be grateful for in my life - life itself is a terrible curse, especially the incarnated life where I need to shit and sleep all the time.

Of course, it could have been worse. And my "gratitude" essentially expresses itself through the privilege of not killing myself when I can. Because there is a chance reincarnation is real, so I'm effectively "choosing" this life, or to continue it.

I've never interacted with humans aside from my mom, and regarding my parents, gratitude towards parents is utterly out of the question because they are the main culprits of my life, so they deserve to suffer. I'm not gonna kill them though because again, killing is yucky, and I'm not a coprophile, thankfully. But I totally emptathise with patricide ^^

 

[pointblank]

I think gratitude is based. It is like Thanksgiving day. You take time to appreciate the memories and all that comes with being alive on this earth with others.