Ot. I don’t feel thankful

[scaredyclassic]

Who is there to thank? No one.

I feel lucky at my good outcome in the random lottery that is life. I don’t feel like I earned much of my good outcome by my own efforts. All the help I got was random too. I just caught a lot of lucky breaks. Yes, family, society helped me, but these were randomly assigned to my life.

But is a person really grateful for what in essence is merely a big casino win in the roulette wheel spin of life. Or is it just the way the cards played out.

There is no G-d, no force in the universe that gives a rats ass about us, no purpose, no meaning other than what I ascribe to it.

Happy holidays everyone!

[SK in CV]

I’m with you.

No god, except the one that makes you capitalize the word, and not spell it out. Habit is GOD! Oops. G-D!

[zk]

My Thanksgiving sentiment:

Thanks, random chance!

[FlyerInHi]

Yesterday, I was thankful to myself for all that I achieved in 2017. I’m feeling good about 2018.

[zk]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Yesterday, I was thankful to myself for all that I achieved in 2017. I’m feeling good about 2018.[/quote]

You couldn’t have achieved any of it without random chance.

[njtosd]

You poor guys – and I include Brian because he is just expressing the full-of-himself view that he always does – you’re missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201511/how-gratitude-leads-happier-life

[zk]

[quote=njtosd]You poor guys – and I include Brian because he is just expressing the full-of-himself view that he always does – you’re missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201511/how-gratitude-leads-happier-life%5B/quote%5D

I didn’t say I’m not grateful. I said I am grateful. I’m grateful to random chance. Seriously. I have a lot of wonderful things in my life. And they’re all due to random chance. Random chance has been very, very good to me.

I’m aware that I’m lucky. I’m lucky I was born a white, intelligent, good-looking (when I was younger) male to upper-class parents in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century. Those are seven huge advantages, and I’m not responsible for any of them. Random chance is.

I’m aware that I wouldn’t have the life I have now without random chance being good to me. And I am thankful for that.

[flyer]

Imo, these types of discussions are really First World problem issues. Whatever we choose to believe the source of our excellence (tongue-in-cheek) to
be–random chance, brilliance, God, luck, etc.–most of us have tremendous advantages in life compared to much of the world, and whether we feel thankful/grateful or not for those advantages is simply a personal choice.

In the final analysis, thankful or not, there is a 100% probability that our lives on earth are temporary, so enjoy while you can.

[scaredyclassic]

they worry more about this religious crap not in the 1st world!

i just cant stand people saying they are blessed, or especially to blessed to be stressed. id be ok if they said they were anointed and favored by the Lord with more vecause theyre superior.

im kind of enjoying things, but im still irritated about being one of the select group to get my taxes jacked up by a bunch of phonies..

[njtosd]

[quote=zk][quote=njtosd]You poor guys – and I include Brian because he is just expressing the full-of-himself view that he always does – you’re missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201511/how-gratitude-leads-happier-life%5B/quote%5D

I didn’t say I’m not grateful. I said I am grateful. I’m grateful to random chance. Seriously. I have a lot of wonderful things in my life. And they’re all due to random chance. Random chance has been very, very good to me.

I’m aware that I’m lucky. I’m lucky I was born a white, intelligent, good-looking (when I was younger) male to upper-class parents in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century. Those are seven huge advantages, and I’m not responsible for any of them. Random chance is.

I’m aware that I wouldn’t have the life I have now without random chance being good to me. And I am thankful for that.[/quote]

So you are saying that you were lucky to be a white male rather than ….. what? Because the alternative (a non white woman – gasp) would be unlucky?

[zk]

[quote=njtosd]

So you are saying that you were lucky to be a white male rather than ….. what? Because the alternative (a non white woman – gasp) would be unlucky?[/quote]

Of course. Do you not think that white males have had an advantage in our society over everybody else since our country was founded?

[Anonymous]

[quote=njtosd]So you are saying that you were lucky to be a white male rather than ….. what? Because the alternative (a non white woman – gasp) would be unlucky?[/quote]

That’s a novel use of this year’s Thanksgiving harvest: Building a strawman.

[outtamojo]

[quote=zk][quote=njtosd]You poor guys – and I include Brian because he is just expressing the full-of-himself view that he always does – you’re missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201511/how-gratitude-leads-happier-life%5B/quote%5D

I didn’t say I’m not grateful. I said I am grateful. I’m grateful to random chance. Seriously. I have a lot of wonderful things in my life. And they’re all due to random chance. Random chance has been very, very good to me.

I’m aware that I’m lucky. I’m lucky I was born a white, intelligent, good-looking (when I was younger) male to upper-class parents in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century. Those are seven huge advantages, and I’m not responsible for any of them. Random chance is.

I’m aware that I wouldn’t have the life I have now without random chance being good to me. And I am thankful for that.[/quote]

Wow this is pretty much my life philosophy

[outtamojo]

[quote=njtosd]You poor guys – and I include Brian because he is just expressing the full-of-himself view that he always does – you’re missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201511/how-gratitude-leads-happier-life%5B/quote%5D

Ah, but who should be grateful and who should not, and for what…should we never ask for more than what some think we “deserve” given our station in life? Poor, poor,ungrateful people.

[scaredyclassic]

maybe grateful people are happier. maybe religious people are happier too. but id rather be less happy and not have to believe a lie. given how very selfish we all are, right down to our genes, its difficult to really feel gratitude for anothers help. i subscrive to the theory that there is not one move or breath we take that is not singularly devoted to ourselves…i guess you could maybe frame the apparently selfless act as for another, but i dont see it……but ultimately, we all do what we think is best for us in the moment.

should my kids really be “grateful” to me for whatever i did for them? i dont know. i didnt really do it for them. it was always all about me. bringing them into this ceappy little world because i needed company.

on the other hand, ill be grateful and really enjoy it if the tax bill fails.

[Author]

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