Expressing gratitude for material things

[Encephalon]

Years ago I poked through a book on Morita therapy, a Japanese theory of psychology which seemed eminently sane.  There was a section that investigated the wisdom of expressing gratitude for the helpful material objects in your life, mostly as an exercise in increasing gratitude in general. 

 

I have deep gratitude for my noise-cancelling, over-the-ear headphones.  I have my white noise, focus, and brain entrainment files on my iphone and together these two tools dramatically reduce the level of noise pollution in my life.  I have dozens of audiobooks loaded up and am never without a moment to learn something new and valuable.  

 

Other than that, I'm especially grateful for my pressure cooker which has increased the quality of my diet immeasurably.  My piano and my book and music library are probably strong contenders too.  I suppose the coffe pot with the built-in timer is mighty handy,  and the four different styles of fans make our lives pretty comfortable.  

 

What cool stuff do you have? 

[Kubba]

I'm grateful for my old Canon camera, with which I was able to build a photography and filmography portfolio with which I gained both experience and work possibilities. I'm also grateful for my laptop with which I am able to do editing work

Thanks for reference to Morita.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Kubba

[Nungali]

I am grateful for everything .  Right down to the basics of simply being alive / existing .

 

I agree that thus is healthy psychology , even more so when one gives appreciation and thanks  and offerings of appreciation and thanks .

 

I am  strongly Lunar and Cancerian so a large amount of my thanks goes towards the great home environment  I have - the actual house and surrounds , the nature climate and animals , etc .

 

Regarding your last sentence ....

 

 

 

 

 and  ....

 

'she who shall not be named ' .

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Nungali

[doc benway]

I’m grateful for the 100 year old Martin guitar I lucked into last year for a very fair price. It needed a little work but sounds and plays great.

 

 

 

Also grateful for my meditation cushion. It’s had to put up with my bottom for quite a few years!

 

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by steve

[Taomeow]

I've often formed lovely relationships with a few favorite things, ever since I was a kid.  Some of those I lost along the way I still remember with a wistful feeling that is not as strong but not unrelated to the feeling left in one's heart by a departing friend.  Others just left quietly, like friends with whom one parts ways with no regrets because they've grown apart.   

 

The ones that remain the recipients of my gratitude have mostly withstood the test of time.  A new thing (with rare exceptions) has to prove itself, I don't dish out gratitude in advance.  So the ones I'm currently most grateful for are

 

my  trusty Armenian cezve which I have been using every day for 30 years;  

an English porcelain tea pot of the past 10 which I admire for its ergonomic beauty and its perfect balance -- not a drop spilled, ever, and the lid never falls off even if I tip it over to get the last one;

a pair of small gold earrings I wear almost always -- they behave as though they belong even though I don't feel them at all -- which, for me, is what perfect earrings are all about, just as any and all other items worn on the body.  Whatever it is, if it makes any demands on my physical attention -- too tight, too loose, too stiff, too flimsy, too many frills to fumble with, etc. -- I can at best tolerate it, but it won't make it to the list of "spark joy" things, and if it insists, it will get donated;

and a few weapons, each with a personality and a name.  (Dragon Well, Immortal Peach, Odoroblo, Fan-Fan the Tulip, Lethal Detraction, Businesslike, Shelter-in-Place and Social Distancing.)

 

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Taomeow

[Nungali]

1 hour ago, Taomeow said:

I've often formed lovely relationships with a few favorite things, ever since I was a kid.  Some of those I lost along the way I still remember with a wistful feeling that is not as strong but not unrelated to the feeling left in one's heart by a departing friend.  Others just left quietly, like friends with whom one parts ways with no regrets because they've grown apart.   

 

The ones that remain the recipients of my gratitude have mostly withstood the test of time.  A new thing (with rare exceptions) has to prove itself, I don't dish out gratitude in advance.  So the ones I'm currently most grateful for are

 

my  trusty Armenian cezve which I have been using every day for 30 years;  

an English porcelain tea pot of the past 10 which I admire for its ergonomic beauty and its perfect balance -- not a drop spilled, ever, and the lid never falls off even if I tip it over to get the last one;

a pair of small gold earrings I wear almost always -- they behave as though they belong even though I don't feel them at all -- which, for me, is what perfect earrings are all about, just as any and all other items worn on the body.  Whatever it is, if it makes any demands on my physical attention -- too tight, too loose, too stiff, too flimsy, too many frills to fumble with, etc. -- I can at best tolerate it, but it won't make it to the list of "spark joy" things, and if it insists, it will get donated;

and a few weapons, each with a personality and a name.  (Dragon Well, Immortal Peach, Odoroblo, Fan-Fan the Tulip, Lethal Detraction, Businesslike, Shelter-in-Place and Social Distancing.)

 

 

 

 

Ooooo !   Goddamn modern  'designs'   , the last two tea  pots I got , the tea comes out from around the lid as well as the spout  ! 

 

Its a design - component  relationship people  !     If the end of the spout height and distance from the pot and  the top of the  pot is wrong   it will not work as the tea will find its way out through the lowest point  - EEEEIDJUTS!

 

next one, I demand a water pouring test before  purchase .

 

and while I am it ... my chiropractor has waiting chairs that have the  2 back cross pieces  , not flat but inserted  on edge, like shelves  so the edges sticks into your spine . I've talked to her about it but she ' Oh ! ?  No one else has mentioned that . "   and   also " they used to be my chairs at home but I got some new ones and decided to put these here . "

 

I'm not sure which way to take that 

 

It is my firm religious conviction that somewhere in hell is a designer section where bad designers are forced to use the products they designed .

[Nungali]

... oops .... I was expressing  pissoffedness about material things in a thread about expressing gratitude for them 

 

[Taomeow]

6 hours ago, Nungali said:

... oops .... I was expressing  pissoffedness about material things in a thread about expressing gratitude for them 

 

 

I was very tempted to do the same while on the subject -- had to delete a paragraph about printers.  No, I can't help myself.  Never had a good relationship with a printer.  Might be just me -- people use them all the time and don't think twice about them.  In my case, it's the printer that always has to think twice whether it's going to print what I want it to or throw a tantrum.  And I will always remember my very first job in an office in NYC which involved a boss who trusted my nonexistent technical expertise enough to ask me to change a cartridge in that monster machine.  I have no idea what I did wrong but after my intervention the monster started spitting thick layers of black goo all over every page it printed, and also had massive internal ink bleeding, which took a repairman called to the rescue several hours to staunch.         

 

[doc benway]

No judgement of what others choose to post but I spend so much time noticing and voicing the negativity of my environment (be it internally or externally) that I’m going to restrict myself only to sharing gratitude in this thread.

[liminal_luke]

I´m grateful for tasty food.

 

the tongue-numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns

oysters on the street in Ensenada

fluffy chicken tamales sold out of street steamers in Zacatecas early in the morning

my mom´s vanilla icecream with dark flecks of real vanilla

the bartending prowess of my buddy Bill who never skips Happy Hour

those pimiento-stuffed olives they put in martinis

any alcoholic drink with a salted rim

falafel stands in Jerusalem

eating pancakes at 2am on a Saturday night after hitting the bars on Stark Street in Portland in my twenties

corndogs at the county fair

hot chinese mustard

the street market in Tehuantepec where I once ate iguana soup (tastes like chicken)

pineapple upsidedown cake with lots of carmelized goo on top

anything from Tartine in San Francisco

[Nungali]

9 hours ago, steve said:

No judgement of what others choose to post but I spend so much time noticing and voicing the negativity of my environment (be it internally or externally) that I’m going to restrict myself only to sharing gratitude in this thread.

 

I have no complaints about my environment 

 

But some of the people in it     . And the stories get out  ;   Gossipers in town ask me  " How is it going out there at  ......   < smirk > "

 

" Fantastic !  Love it ! "

 

" Really !   Didnt  .......  just do ..... to ..... at .....  ?"

 

" Ohhh , I thought you meant the place  . The people ? .... I keep that separate . "

 

 

[Nungali]

8 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

I´m grateful for tasty food.

 

the tongue-numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns

oysters on the street in Ensenada

fluffy chicken tamales sold out of street steamers in Zacatecas early in the morning

my mom´s vanilla icecream with dark flecks of real vanilla

the bartending prowess of my buddy Bill who never skips Happy Hour

those pimiento-stuffed olives they put in martinis

any alcoholic drink with a salted rim

falafel stands in Jerusalem

eating pancakes at 2am on a Saturday night after hitting the bars on Stark Street in Portland in my twenties

corndogs at the county fair

hot chinese mustard

the street market in Tehuantepec where I once ate iguana soup (tastes like chicken)

pineapple upsidedown cake with lots of carmelized goo on top

anything from Tartine in San Francisco

 

My doctor : "Have you cut back on salt like I asked you to ?"

 

" Ummmmm ......  well ,  I have stopped salting the rim of my margaritas    "

 

 

 

.

Edited June 30, 2020 by Nungali