Gratitude and appreciation
Nov. 21st, 2020 12:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anna_wing"Gratitude journals" have been in vogue for a while, the trendy version of my dear departed grandmother's advice to "count your blessings when you're down". This is, obviously, quite a good time for it, and I consider it a reasonable and sensible mental exercise. What I dislike is the specific term 'gratitude', though, since it does seem to imply having to be grateful not just for something, but to someone. Possibly this is simply a cultural remnant of Abrahamic monotheism.
I prefer 'appreciation', which does not require a third party to be even implicitly involved. I have many things to appreciate. My job, my lifestyle, decent wifi, my friends and family, my professional colleagues and the people of my household, my cats, my current state of health, my cup of fresh roselle tea, the country that I am in (and the countries that I am not in, thanks to career decisions made years ago). I appreciate it all.
I prefer 'appreciation', which does not require a third party to be even implicitly involved. I have many things to appreciate. My job, my lifestyle, decent wifi, my friends and family, my professional colleagues and the people of my household, my cats, my current state of health, my cup of fresh roselle tea, the country that I am in (and the countries that I am not in, thanks to career decisions made years ago). I appreciate it all.
