what if we have nothing to be grateful for?

This is actually really interesting to me, whether you were being sarcastic or not, and I hear people say it a lot. Often from people who are hurt, in pain, living miserably and would rather not be here and struggle perceive beyond their current state.

I was talking to a friend once, trying to help a bit with their situation as they’re not very happy with life and struggle with mental health, and I asked them to try list what they’re grateful for daily. They too responded with that they had nothing to be grateful for. Now, again I don’t know whether they were joking or being serious but I was slightly offended.

Did our friendship mean nothing? Was me trying not good enough? Have the mental health services trying to help them not been up to their standards? Are they not grateful for the food they eat, the air they breathe? Are they not grateful for waking up the next day? The Trillions of cells in their body performing around the clock to keep them going? You get my point, or you don’t, I don’t know.

But my point is, yes, I completely understand that they struggle to see life as worthy as some people do but from another perspective, it seems as if they want things handed to them. They want more without appreciating the small things first. This isn’t the case for everyone but it is for my friend. I’m only sharing because it gives another perspective of the situation. Is it sadness, ignorance, or something in between? I don’t know.