It may be that a person living now is having a wonderful life without realizing the degree of wonderfulness. Can we be in heaven or its suburb without noticing how lovely life is?
First, many people, especially Americans, have been accustomed to trying to improve. It doesn't matter whether we are talking about school grades, or body weight or bank balances or monthly sales or football games, what is there to do but BETTER? That orientation does not often lead to appreciation, to noticing how good things are right now?
Second, news media and daily conversation naturally focus on dangers and disasters. Yes, we have a war going on in Ukraine. Yes, we have covid and other diseases floating through our groups and crowds. Yes, we have indications that our planet's temperature, water supply, soil fertility are in danger.
Fundamentally, we are actually built to notice dangers, disturbances and difficulties more quickly and pay more attention to them that we are to attend to riches, accomplishments and loves. We can't help it - we are built that way. Evolution and nature built us that way and it built the birds and bees that way, too. I have had this statement on my blog page for quite a while:
I have read that "it's not a story until something bad happens". You get the idea: we can't hardly take note until there is a danger, a sadness, a loss that might happen to us, or one that reminds us of one that did. It is another version of good news gets ignored or forgotten. Only when our alarm or emotion systems get activated, do we pay strong attention.
That is a good tendency to have, but we can use our minds once in a while to consider the love, beauty, friendliness, good fortune and genius that we have in our lives.
The Bible makes the statement that a natural life lasts three score and ten years, 70 years. These days, lives are being lived a decade and more longer than that. The book "The WEIRDest People in the World" by Joseph Henrich makes clear that Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic people differ in many ways from many other groups currently living on this planet. In discussing the ways of that group of people, the first factor he mentions is literacy, the ability to read. That ability, coupled with our communication tools is just one factor that leads to better thought, wider consideration that include more angles and ideas.
I know it can sound fake but join me in a few moments each day, or alternate days, in a practice of noticing good fortune and good life.
