Comments on: Gratitude Experiment: Day 51 http://www.gratitudexp.com/2010/02/10/gratitude-experiment-day-51/ Will Practicing Proactive Gratitude Transform Your Life? Prove It To Yourself. Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:02:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Victoria @ Gratitude Experiment http://www.gratitudexp.com/2010/02/10/gratitude-experiment-day-51/comment-page-1/#comment-198 Victoria @ Gratitude Experiment Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:38:36 +0000 http://www.gratitudexp.com/?p=475#comment-198 Hi Lisa, Thank you so much for your thoughtful contribution to this discussion. I value your comments. I hope it starts a conversation. Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful contribution to this discussion. I value your comments. I hope it starts a conversation.

]]> By: Lisa http://www.gratitudexp.com/2010/02/10/gratitude-experiment-day-51/comment-page-1/#comment-197 Lisa Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:38:07 +0000 http://www.gratitudexp.com/?p=475#comment-197 I'm familiar with this line of thinking...being grateful even for the adversity we experience in our life... but not from a religious, spiritual perspective. It came from a personal development perspective; the soul as the deepest sense of the person you are, transcending the body you inhabit. At its simplest, it means that any challenge we experience in life can teach us something, so we should be grateful for that opportunity to learn and grow. I understand and agree to some extent, but I can't go as far as to be grateful for incredibly unjust (IMO), injurious, damaging, traumatic or permanent/final suffering. That sounds inelegant, but I can't find the words I want to express this. Ex. Should a Haitian resident be grateful for the earthquake? Mass destruction, death, trauma and loss came from that incident. Are their positives? Could international attention to the poverty in Haiti be enough to make the earthquake something for which the Haitians be grateful? I suppose that some think we should feel grateful that the plight of the thousands of Haitian children who were orphaned by the earthquake revealed that there is still international, criminal trafficking in human lives? I suppose so, but I would rather not have had the incident occur that caused the attention. earthquake What can you be grateful for in regard to the loss of a loved parent, child or partner? That it might force you to examine the relationship or build up emotional resilience? I'd personally rather have the person in my life, than the learning experience. Maybe I'm missing the point. I'm not convinced. I feel horrified by news of children taken, killed, orphaned, sold, unfed, hurt, unloved; not grateful. I’m familiar with this line of thinking…being grateful even for the adversity we experience in our life… but not from a religious, spiritual perspective. It came from a personal development perspective; the soul as the deepest sense of the person you are, transcending the body you inhabit. At its simplest, it means that any challenge we experience in life can teach us something, so we should be grateful for that opportunity to learn and grow.

I understand and agree to some extent, but I can’t go as far as to be grateful for incredibly unjust (IMO), injurious, damaging, traumatic or permanent/final suffering. That sounds inelegant, but I can’t find the words I want to express this. Ex. Should a Haitian resident be grateful for the earthquake? Mass destruction, death, trauma and loss came from that incident. Are their positives? Could international attention to the poverty in Haiti be enough to make the earthquake something for which the Haitians be grateful? I suppose that some think we should feel grateful that the plight of the thousands of Haitian children who were orphaned by the earthquake revealed that there is still international, criminal trafficking in human lives? I suppose so, but I would rather not have had the incident occur that caused the attention. earthquake

What can you be grateful for in regard to the loss of a loved parent, child or partner? That it might force you to examine the relationship or build up emotional resilience? I’d personally rather have the person in my life, than the learning experience. Maybe I’m missing the point. I’m not convinced. I feel horrified by news of children taken, killed, orphaned, sold, unfed, hurt, unloved; not grateful.

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