[HN Gopher] Underrated reasons to be thankful
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       Underrated reasons to be thankful
        
       Author : maccaw
       Score  : 107 points
       Date   : 2022-11-24 19:08 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (dynomight.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (dynomight.substack.com)
        
       | maccaw wrote:
       | The author's last-years underrated reasons to be thankful was
       | also excellent: https://dynomight.net/thanks/
        
       | kaushikc wrote:
       | Imagine how thankful a duck should feel to walk on land, swim
       | over and under water and also fly. If ducks got more time, they
       | would've ruled the planet.
        
       | zozbot234 wrote:
       | Something I'm very much _not_ thankful for: the plight of
       | indigenous peoples in what 's nowadays the U.S. I find it
       | outrageous that we're all expected to happily celebrate a holiday
       | that still glorifies--in myth and tradition, if not quite
       | officially--the centuries-old genocidal oppression of Native
       | peoples.
        
         | smegma2 wrote:
         | Bro has beef with a holiday
        
       | codazoda wrote:
       | 17. Ghosts don't exist
       | 
       | I wish someone would tell the people I love about this. Nah,
       | never mind, they don't need to know.
       | 
       | Oh, BTW, it's usually when I'm most confident that I'm wrong.
        
       | codecutter wrote:
       | I am thankful
       | 
       | for politicians, lawyers and tv evangelists because it gives me
       | something to laugh at.
       | 
       | for the significant other who hogs the covers every night,
       | because he/she is not out with someone else.
       | 
       | for the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching tv,
       | because that means he/she is at home and not on the streets.
       | 
       | for the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.
       | 
       | for the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have
       | been surrounded by friends.
       | 
       | for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I
       | have enough to eat.
       | 
       | for my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in
       | the sunshine.
       | 
       | for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and
       | gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
       | 
       | for all the complaining I hear about (legal abortions, the loss
       | of the environment, the inefficient government, greedy
       | corporations, etc.) because it means that we have freedom of
       | speech.
       | 
       | for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
       | because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been
       | blessed with transportation.
       | 
       | for my huge heating or cooling bill, because it means I am
       | comfortable.
       | 
       | for the ugly fat lady behind me in church that sings way off key,
       | because it means that I can hear and see.
       | 
       | for the huge pile of dirty laundry, because it means I have
       | clothes to spare.
       | 
       | for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because
       | it means I have been capable of working hard.
       | 
       | for the alarm that goes of in the early morning hours, because it
       | means that I am alive.
       | 
       | and finally.......for too much spam and advertising, because it
       | means I have friends, family and spammers/advertisers who are
       | thinking of me.
        
         | jschveibinz wrote:
         | Very nicely said, and somewhat Taoist in philosophical tone.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | n8cpdx wrote:
       | I think sometimes people take too much for granted and can
       | overthink thanksgiving. Just having the means to read this site
       | means you probably have hundreds of things to be grateful for,
       | like the ability to read and the leisure time to do so. But maybe
       | that perspective comes from practicing gratitude daily rather
       | than only once a year (not shading the holiday, it is great to
       | also dedicate a special day).
       | 
       | More relevant to the article, several of these things seem
       | calibrated to cause division and strife at the thanksgiving
       | dinner table. Sometimes being the drama can be fun, and I think
       | the following would Do the trick:
       | 
       | > That electric leaf blowers now exist and perhaps we can develop
       | a new understanding that it's chill to not spew intermittent
       | pitch-shifting mechanical shrieking sounds at deafening volumes
       | all the time everywhere?
       | 
       | > That ghosts don't exist, which wasn't obvious a thousand years
       | ago.
        
         | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
         | _> the ability to read_
         | 
         | This. A lot of people take for granted how cool it is to have a
         | working pair of eyes. Or being able to hear everything. Or have
         | all four limbs.
         | 
         | We only appreciate health once we lose it.
        
           | neilv wrote:
           | Good thoughts to keep in mind before dispensing any
           | roundhouse kicks.
        
       | lr4444lr wrote:
       | Here's one: that you don't have progressive lung disease.
       | 
       | Enough of you I am sure have experienced briefly with COVID what
       | it's like to acutely lose the freedom of an unobstructed breath.
       | 
       | (And I hope those of you with long COVID are seeing eventual
       | remission.)
        
       | Dylan16807 wrote:
       | Knowing the status of ghosts is cool and all, but why should I
       | prefer that ghosts not exist??
        
       | svilen_dobrev wrote:
       | > 25 ... if we want to do something ambitious someday
       | 
       | like, "dont try that at home" ..
        
       | swader999 wrote:
       | I'm thankful for God and all of you who contribute here.
        
       | tombert wrote:
       | As someone who has had an ulcer, I am super grateful that H.
       | Pylori is substantially less common. Of all the diseases that
       | I've had, it is easily the most unpleasant and I sincerely do not
       | wish it even upon my worst enemies.
        
         | aswanson wrote:
         | I suffered necrotic tooth pain. Wish it on no one.
        
       | chasd00 wrote:
       | Working dry erase markers. You don't realize until you need to
       | whiteboard something and all the markers are dried out and
       | useless.
        
         | monster_group wrote:
         | That's why I always carry my own - especially for whiteboard
         | interviews.
        
       | lisper wrote:
       | > That often there is a BIG PROBLEM that could have APOCALYPTIC
       | CONSEQUENCES and we worry and worry and then it gets solved or
       | goes away
       | 
       | This is indeed something to be thankful for, but it is also
       | something to be very wary of. Over-extrapolating this leads to
       | complacency. Some problems, like climate change, are not just
       | going to go away.
        
       | a3w wrote:
       | #28 That shoes [exist]. Shoes are pushed into the marked by Big
       | Shoe. I stopped wearing them, and my health improved. Convince me
       | wrong. /s
        
       | User23 wrote:
       | Reading this submission makes me thankful that I'm not an
       | atheistic materialist.
        
       | d_graeme wrote:
        
       | archydeb wrote:
       | Are the musical ratios right here? 25/12 is not approximately
       | 4/3... I struggled to wrap my head around that one
       | 
       | Otherwise, excellent!
        
       | lisper wrote:
       | Having traveled in many third-world countries I wake up every day
       | thankful that I have a house with a roof and walls and a floor,
       | and water that comes out of a tap that is safe to drink. Not only
       | that, but I have _hot_ water that I don 't have to fetch firewood
       | for. And lights that come on at night when I flip a switch. These
       | are unimaginable luxuries for millions of people around the
       | world.
       | 
       | And don't even get me started about refrigerators and air
       | conditioning.
        
       | ulnarkressty wrote:
       | After reading this article [0] today, I am thankful I have enough
       | to feed my children. It is strange to feel relief and be
       | distraught at the same time.
       | 
       | [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63733683
        
       | autotune wrote:
       | How about we simplify it a bit:
       | 
       | My dog
       | 
       | Having a job
       | 
       | Parents and relatives who don't get involved in scams. Except
       | that one aunt.
       | 
       | Living in a first world country and not having to deal with
       | citizenship issues.
       | 
       | No need to add all this additional complexity to something that
       | should be so simple.
        
         | buzzerbetrayed wrote:
         | Pretty sure the article is just for fun. But also you can be
         | grateful for both simple and complex things at the same time.
        
           | autotune wrote:
           | Totally agree! Just offering a counter point. All in good
           | fun.
        
         | mattpallissard wrote:
         | > Except that one aunt.
         | 
         | There's one in every crowd.
        
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       (page generated 2022-11-24 23:00 UTC)