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Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

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11–20 of 56 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#11
A lot.

We don't realize how nice we have it. Computers, furniture, food, clothing: I could not build all of these myself. Also health, fitness, half-decent appearance, family: these are things nobody and no amount of money can give back if I lose them. My job and connections: I would be poor, homeless, struggling without them, and making new connections today is harder than ever.

Does not mean that everything is perfect. And it's definitely not an excuse to criticize people which don't have all of these (e.g. shelter but not money, shelter and money but not friends or family, shelter and money and support but not health), as every single one is very important. But still, it's a lot, and many people just don't realize

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#14
1. My grandchildren

2. Everyone else in my family and their good health. My children are happy in the marriages. Spouse is as energetic as ever and still has the enthusiasm and love when we met back in college

3. Quitting my last job before my physical and mental health completely shattered. Tell you what, if you’re also in the Amazon rat race, get out before it eats you.

4. Not doing too much over the past year, aside from reading, light travel, and participating in some online communities

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#16
post #6

Recently seen a great phrase: Be grateful for the things you don’t have to do. As programmers we have one of the nicest jobs in society, there’s a lot of shit that we don’t have to deal with (figurative and literally), I’m very grateful for that.

A big one is physical harm from the job, be that pollution, dust, hazards, danger.

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#17

I can turn a handle and have as much (clean!) hot water as I need, pretty much whenever I want. This is so normal where I live that people only notice what a joy it is when it isn't there. I'm grateful for all the inventiveness and infrastructure and effort that's gone into making hot water so plentiful it is casually disposable.

I am greatful for the cold water. Never been poor but a survival course where we had to make river water drinkable - your whole day becomes about the water!

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#19
I don't understand the (American?) concept of "gratitude".

I think it's because it necessarily implies someone to be grateful to, most likely a divine being or an abstraction of it (such as the spirit of universe). I see the world as a chaotic place where most things are done through pure will of humans, and random events.

If somebody does something good to me, I'm grateful to them. My current employer recruited me while I was in college, I was severely depressed and anxious, had frequent panic attacks and a few blowups at work, and they tolerated it because they believed I was "promising". I'm also aware that my skills (demonstrated to professors at college) were also a factor in their decision, but I'm still grateful to them, as people, for choosing to give me a chance.

What I'm not grateful is the ordinary bullshit of being alive and healthy, being in a trade (programming) that earns quite a bit of money, having family, et cetera. Those things are pure chance, and yes, I got dealt good cards in some ways, but also bad cards in other ways. I don't see logic behind being "grateful" for the good things, while ignoring the bad.

If it's just a psychological trick to make us "happier" with our lives, then I despise it even more. There is a purpose in being unhappy - fixing things is hard when you're "grateful" for what you have and don't want to risk changing anything. And if your life is truly good, you don't need a ritual of pointing out good things to feel good about it.

Maybe I'm just overanalyzing it. But the concept of "gratitude" just feels fake to me.

Re: Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

#20
Delightful wife & kids. Sweet smell of air in the morning. Not being beaten or raped. Chickens. Modern medicine. New roof. Heated toilet seats. Thyroid medicine. Not having to wear a catheter. Food shopping with my wife. Szechuan cuisine HALLELUJAH. Not being incarcerated. The Constitution.
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