The Gratitude Thread

[Gabby]

the Gratitude Thread

---

I've been noodling on making a thread like this for a little while. I think it would be nice to have this sort of thread where we can express our gratitude for the various things in life. I believe it differs from the "happy" thread because while gratitude can lead to happiness, I think of gratitude as more so an exercise in mindfulness. I've personally found that practicing gratitude a little bit every day has helped me in more ways than one, so I thought it would be cool if we could all share what we are grateful for and try to add some light to someones day. Plus, maybe someone is grateful for something you never even thought of, so it could be a perspective sharing space as well.

So, please, share whatever you are grateful for in your life. It can be little, it can be big, it can be whatever.

---

I am grateful for the first cup of coffee in the morning. I feel like coffee is something that's going to get more expensive with climate change in the future, so while it's still relatively cheap, I try to savor each cup and not waste it. I'm also really grateful for running water. I think that's something I take for granted, and not out of maliciousness, it's just so normal in my part of the world it really trips me out to think it's actually a luxury service.

What are you grateful for?

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I am grateful that we got our old couch out of the house. It is one of those curved long ones. Took up alot of space and we just really didn't need one that big. It was hard to get out of the house... but it is out. We were given a used love seat and chair from someone moving states away that works for us. More room for us in that room now and it is just a relief. It is made of a material that is easier to clean, not that the other one was difficult. Our old couch has another use, so it isn't tossed.
Speaking of running water that you mentioned above, I was actually thinking this past week that I am grateful that I had some hands on experience cooking on a campfire when I was a kid. Being able to cook on a campfire with pots and pans made for it without your food turning into an ashen brick is a handy skill to have if you find yourself without electricity for whatever reason. From time to time, the concern of electricity crosses my mind the past few years because of world things... Also it isn't too hard to put together a fire oven with some flat stones and is kinda similar to a campfire, so there is that too, though I have never baked in one but I have seen others build one. But our electric appliances are handy for being able to set a temperature and it just stays at that temperature. It is something we don't really think about and take for granted when cooking. With a campfire you have to estimate. Don't feed too much, estimate where to place cookware, or how many coals to place on top...

 

[g u a v a]

i'm grateful for the patience and flexbility my loved ones provide me. i tend to get overwhelmed by life things easily and at times can go MIA but they are all very supportive and allow me to take some time for myself.

 

[Drawdler]

• My best friend. Our friendship is definitely not perfect or even perfectly imperfect, but he’s always provided so much of the patience I need and always been honest and accepting to me. He isn’t reading this but I still gonna say love you bro
• Having a home where at least I don’t need to worry about making enough to keep shelter. It’s crappy here but that gives me some freedom and safety.
• The Internet existing, no matter how much it warped from what I loved about it.
• Enough stability in life that I can turn my philosophy around and look at it from all angles, this is my vanity project and what I want to live for.
• Having realistic roadmaps to some of my life goals.
• This forum as always Giving me genuine friend experiences, events, just getting to see cool people, etc.
• Art existing. As another vanity thing. Being able to have some level of hard-earned vanity basically.

 

[Croconaw]

I'm grateful that my job is giving me a place to feel comfortable with myself. My name was even changed in the system and everyone calls me that chosen name. Everybody that does is from my job or online. I'm glad some people do it even if I have to be called something else by others.

I'm also grateful for this forum existing.

 

[Dunquixote]

I’m grateful for the patience everyone has with me on this community and how kind everyone is. I feel bad for needing to use the bothering thread so frequently lately; I never expect anyone to read it. I just need to talk about it to someone. I can’t do counseling since they only make me feel angry and worse. The person I talk to usually isn’t responding to me anymore. The moral support and the positivity here really helps cheer me up. Also, I’m grateful for anyone that reads my posts & comments (general posts I mean). I know I can drag on while talking about anything; it’s hard for me to get to the point and not derail from the main point because i get so many thoughts while trying to respond to something. Also my opinions too are sometimes out there so, it means a lot since i usually get ignored when trying to chat with others like during a voice actor’s stream or something.

I realize I’ve posted about this in the happy thread before but I still feel like I need to express my gratitude since right now since I’d understand if I annoy anyone or sound like a broken record. I never expect any reactions or anyone to read my posts either. Just having a place to post some things troubling me is really enough.

 

[S.J.]

I love this thread (and I'm grateful for it). There's honestly so much to be grateful for.

• I'm so grateful for my incredible best friend, and my wonderful family. I'm lucky to have a family as kind, caring, and supportive as they are. I'm also lucky to have a best friend that brightens every day, makes me laugh, always encourages me, and is always there for me when I need it. I don't know what I would do without them.
  
  
• I'm thankful for my beautiful TBT friends. I've said it before, I don't know how there are so many wonderful people in one place! I have met so many lovely people here, and at least a couple of life-long friends.
  
  
• I'm also grateful for TBT as a whole, for all of the staff, and all of their hard work to make the forums what they are!
  
  
• I really appreciate my supervisors, my colleagues, and the opportunities I've been afforded. I'm grateful to be safe and warm, that all my necessities are met, and for all of the luxuries too.
  
  
• I'm grateful for all of the pets I've owned, and the joy and happiness it brings to own a pet!

As for a few smaller things...

• I'm grateful for all the dogs I see being walked, and their humans walking them. They always brighten my day. Also dogs in cars. Especially ones that have their heads out the window. Once I saw a medium-sized dog sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was stopped at a traffic light, and he just (non-aggressively) barked at anyone that crossed the road. It was honestly the highlight of my day.
  
  
• I'm grateful for how warm and cosy sweaters are.

 

[Gabby]

Thank you all so much for sharing! I think it's great what you all have shared.

Today, I'm grateful for the job I have right now. It's pretty chill and flexible. I had a run of really terrible jobs for a long time, so to finally have one where I feel heard, supported, and fairly compensated is really nice.

 

[Doo]

I’m grateful for these forums and this amazing community - everyone’s so lovely here!

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I'm grateful to have a warm place to sleep tonight. Blankets are the best and it's great to have a soft warm place to lay down when not feeling great.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I am grateful for a lot... I could write a whole book probably for things that I am grateful for but I will try to keep it short today. I am particularly grateful:

For my husband, he is so sweet, understanding, patient, funny, loving, smart. All around a good human being. Don't know what I would do without him

For my mom, she is the best mom in the world, I don't deserve her. She deserves way better in general. I wish she would retire, she works too hard and doesn't get enough sleep.. although sometimes I wish I could be more like her in terms of work ethic tbh I would be unstoppable

For having been born in the year and location that I was.. Grateful I wasn't born in the 40's or earlier. Grateful that I was born in the 90's and am privileged enough to be able to read, write, drive, use the internet, etc. Grateful that I can see, hear, walk, and grateful that I am generally healthy

For art and music.. and wireless headphones!!!! 11 year old me would be mind-blown right now if I could tell her about wireless headphones

For this website honestly, this really is an amazing community, I feel like I have become a somewhat better person because of the bell tree forums.. Certainly a little bit less asocial. Is that weird

For cats. I don't have any but I love them so much

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

Grateful that things like community notes exists to keep fact checking hard on hilariously cringe and pathetic posts on twitter can really be.

Grateful that being realistic and honest bout myself and for having no fear being able to be bluntly tell things how it is makes for a great mindset.

Grateful that being reclusive has kept my sanity in check and doesn't get me into trouble at all irl or online too so yeah overall im just grateful to be a pessmist with a touch of realism than so deluding myself into a false sense of optimism.

 

[Gabby]

Today, I am grateful for the repaired family relationships in my life. Sometime growing up, your family relationships can get complicated due to a variety of factors. It's not always possible to reconcile. However, if you have the opportunity, it is really a blessing. So today, I'm grateful for healing.

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I am grateful for easy and abundant access to clean water. A lot of people seem to take this resource for granted, and I was like that up until recently. Our sink broke so we had to boil water to wash our dishes and drink from the bathroom sink. It made me realize that people have to get their water this way every day, or others don't have any at all. I'm thankful to have running water so we can clean and hydrate ourselves.

 

[Suguri]

First of all I am the most grateful for being here on The Bell Tree. I didn't even expect to make 900+ posts here since the only reason why I made an account was to get stuff for my Animal Crossing game. But as someone who had previously beared witness to toxic users and overwhelming drama, I honestly wanted a fresh start, and my fresh start just so happened to be right here. So... thank you to the community for making these forums a pleasant little place for sensitive ol' me!

Speaking of which, I'm also grateful for joining in 2022. I've heard plenty of bad things about The Bell Tree back in the 2010s and I once read this old thread from 2011 where people were arguing about...wait for it...water bending. Yeesh... (・・;) If someone posted about this today, it would be dealt with pretty quickly!

And finally, I'm grateful (and should continue being grateful) for my autism. For me, it's a mixed bag living with it, but I don't think I'd be the same if I weren't autistic.

 

[Chris]

I'm grateful for the head teacher at the school I work in. We're both the same flavour of neurospicy, so she understands the difficulties I have in the workplace and her door is always open for a chat. She also did something for a colleague of mine today that just reminded me how supportive she is to the staff. She's very new in her role, and quite young for it, but she's fantastic and very attentive. She made a point of telling me last week that I'd made her day a few days earlier with kind words I'd given her on a hard day.

Also, she describes my role to pupils as, "it's his job to make sure the school doesn't explode" and I need to get this laminated and displayed on my wall.

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I'm grateful for this forum site and how there are many topics to read or participate in if you choose. I know I comment in almost every thread, but there are some or times I just read. And we have fun little events here too.
I'm also grateful for my pup working so hard to be good. I let her outside to potty and see my spouse since he just got home. She completely ignores him and makes a beeline for the grass before greeting him. He decides to start talking to her while shes trying to be good and she can't contain herself and just dances and pees everywhere and gets concerned that she peed without control. She was outside but yeah.. I wish he would have let her do her thing but she tries! Not even a year old yet! I love all my doggos and they are all wonderful and I'm grateful to have them. They brighten everyone's day, including each other's.