One of my favorite YouTube channels Kurzgesagt -- In a Nutshell has a new video which proposes that gratitude can be An Antidote to Dissatisfaction. They suggest that the feeling of gratitude has its evolutionary origins in reciprocity. To be happier, they advise, keep a gratitude journal.
The Stoics reasoned that all of our joys and sorrows are ephemeral. Documenting what you have good right now might someday come to seem at best bittersweet and at worst a painful reminder of loss. Health, wealth, and wisdom all eventually fade.
The Stoics did not seem to recognize that there are indeed some things to get excited about. Blessings that extend into perpetuity, such as children and grandchildren, still matter even after you are no longer capable of caring. I think a gratitude journal should focus on those things that survive you after death.
I am grateful for the following:
The Stoics reasoned that all of our joys and sorrows are ephemeral. Documenting what you have good right now might someday come to seem at best bittersweet and at worst a painful reminder of loss. Health, wealth, and wisdom all eventually fade.
The Stoics did not seem to recognize that there are indeed some things to get excited about. Blessings that extend into perpetuity, such as children and grandchildren, still matter even after you are no longer capable of caring. I think a gratitude journal should focus on those things that survive you after death.
I am grateful for the following:
- My children and all of my future descendants
- That my children will raise their children in freedom
- That happiness for all people is gradually improving over time
- That future medical technology will eventually conquer death
- That the offspring of humanity will expand conscious life throughout the Universe
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