12 Reasons to Be Grateful Anyway

So many of us are discouraged about the state of the world.

When I think of my parents going through the Depression and World War II, I wonder whether those of us lamenting the affairs of today are being a little self-indulgent and self-pitying.

But regardless of whether things really are as bad as we fear now, or whether they’re worse or better than in the past, our feelings are valid because they are our feelings.

I’ve been trying to offer you antidotes to despair.

I’ve written a couple of times about lessons from Donald Trump (here and here), about Hillary Clinton’s spiritual life, about possible ways to view suffering and evil, and about how to stay spiritual when the world falls apart.

But the best all-purpose practice I know – the Swiss Army knife of spiritual tools – is gratitude.

It works for everything. Try being grateful and see whether the world looks brighter.

Important note: You don’t have to be grateful for the same things you’re worried about.

You don’t have to find something good in the particular candidate you think will destroy the country, or in the latest shooting, or in a loved one’s surgery, although it might help if you could.

You can be grateful for something else instead, then bring your lighter attitude to the bleaker topics.

Read on for 12 reasons to be grateful, no matter what . . .