Remember when your mother or father used to tell you that ‘you needed to finish your food, because there are starving children in Africa’?
(Or some variation of that.)
Of course, that didn’t really register or hit very close to home, as it was not obviously connected to the food on the plate right in front of you.
Fast forward a few generations, and today, gratitude is en vogue.
We’re told to practice it daily, perhaps even keep a gratitude journal.
In doing so the other day, I realized that it’s not just that I have much to be thankful for as compared to other third-world countries.
There are many people right here in my local county who have far fewer material possessions than I, and perhaps even more appreciation for what they do have.
Conversely, there are many people right here in my local county who have far more material possessions than and, and perhaps even less appreciation for those things.
It seems to follow then, that it’s not about comparing or locality at all.
It’s really just about you, practicing thanks and appreciation for whatever you need to.
The moment you add in what someone else ‘should or might do or have’, you’re off target completely.
Matt Fried 