"One of my former colleagues passed away in her early 50s after battling lung cancer. She was a brilliant scholar and a wonderful human being-it's hard to make sense of the suffering inflicted on her and her family. Wait. You might be thinking-aren't you the gratitude guy? Yeah, I am. But gratitude isn't unbridled positive thinking. There's a time and place for everything."
"Here's a paradox: A small dose of negative thinking -acknowledging that bad things happen-can actually make us more grateful. I call this the principle of precarious goodness-the third foundational principle for a grateful life. This principle says: Goodness is fragile. Life isn't an endless stream of goodness. Rather, evil, suffering, and injustice coexist with goodness. Recognizing this truth makes gratitude deeper, not weaker."
Evil, suffering, and injustice coexist with goodness, and recognizing that coexistence makes gratitude deeper rather than weaker. Gratitude does not require unbridled positive thinking; there are appropriate seasons to grieve as well as to celebrate. Acknowledging that bad things happen—a small dose of negative thinking—can heighten appreciation for good. The principle of precarious goodness states that goodness is fragile and intermittent. Practicing gratitude means cultivating gratitude in everything without forcing gratitude for injustice or pain. Negative experiences can be used to sharpen the contrast between bad and good, causing acts of goodness to stand out more vividly.
Read at Psychology Today
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