How grateful should we really be?

[Eri]

Many times when my mother has heard me complaining she is always quick to point out that while there might be problems in my life, lots of other people and their lives have more problems. She always said you should be grateful for what you have, and to an extent yes. But the opposite is also true, there are tons of people with a better life than you.

While I might look at a poor person in Africa and say, "I'm glad I'm not in that guy's shoes", Someone else would look at someone like me and say the exact same thing. This applies to pretty much everyone, so while we should be grateful, how grateful should we really be if someone is always going to have a better/worse life?

 

[Blind Sight]

Put it this way: Do you have food? Clean water? A dry, comfortable place to sleep? Do you work in a setting that recognizes worker's rights and doesn't mistreat you?

If the answers to all these questions are yes, congratulations, you're better off then half the world. Yes, people who have more then you can still look down and see your life as worse, but that's a matter of WANT, not NEED.

 

[Inferno_622]

I think it is not that other people (say, for example, a poor person in Africa as per your example) have more problems, but that their problems are worse while yours are more trivial.

 

[DividedUnity]

We shouldn't feel grateful that someone else is worse off we should feel grateful because of what we have.

Honestly I'm not very grateful for a lot of what I have. I'm ok with it though.

 

[Kagim]

Your currently sitting on your computer posting in a forum. Meaning you live in a setting that has enough money to give you electricity, a computer, and an internet connection.

Compared to people who have no water and work all day to get a jar of it.

I think we should fall to our knees and thank whatever powers there be that we live in such a cushy life that we have time to muse over whether our lives are cushy or not, and not whether you will be able to make enough Nike Air's today to earn enough cash to buy half a loaf of bread for your family.

Edit: On a side note. Its alright to feel down or depressed, or to get irritated at times. The thing is though to question if you really have it so good is starting to push it.