Deniz Ünlü, Grade 11
UWC Mostar
Gratitude always seems conflicting. That may come off strange when among all the world’s religions and cultures, you can likely not find one that denounces it. Regardless, it always appears to be towing a certain line; between an abstraction that masks the real human relations under our ways of living and a divine, universal moral principle, as well as a benefit to one’s psychological health. It promotes a certain contentedness, and after all, who can say living in envy or bitterness is preferable to such a satisfactory state? This type of positive thinking is promoted, and at times demanded, all around us and doesn’t limit itself to gratitude. Yet, optimism can’t always be justified, and just as negative delusions and distortions can be harmful, so can positive ones. An optimism that arises not from the goodness of the world but from the demand of itself will only pacify us and act as a force preventing change as opposed to practising it. (Which is what UWC is all about). Why would someone who believes that the existing state of things is just and that they should be thankful for their position in it work for change –even if such change would alter his/her condition for the better, even if they are facing injustice? Furthermore, isn’t this principle of gratitude always in conflict with a pervasive atmosphere that constantly tells us to own more, work for more, and be more, and keeps us responsible for not meeting the standards it has set? How come people are being told that their conditions are their own fault and at the same time that they should be grateful for them?
When we are grateful, we always have to be grateful to something or someone. This “thing” usually takes shape in the form of a God or a general state of being. If one is grateful to God for the food on their table and the roof over their head, then they forget a whole community of people that manufactured the materials and brought them right to their doorstep. It is as if the food planted its own seeds and walked into the store to find its place on the market shelf itself. “The material relations between people, become social relations between things.” And what of the things we are grateful for, are they always justified? If someone is getting a low salary to make some sort of living, are they to be grateful for their salary because there are people with no jobs at all? Shouldn’t they instead be angry at their “superiors” who in most cases could give them a raise without a decrease in their lifestyle? Or better yet, the whole structure of society that prevents such a thing from happening?
Evidently, gratitude isn’t always unjustified. On an individual level, in our most basic human relations, it is a necessary expression of our interdependence, like my gratitude for my family and community. However, if it abstracts from the real people working behind the scenes, masks the real relations between people, and instead gets attributed to mystical beings, it becomes self-serving and ideological.
When we are grateful, we always have to be grateful to something or someone. This “thing” usually takes shape in the form of a God or a general state of being. If one is grateful to God for the food on their table and the roof over their head, then they forget a whole community of people that manufactured the materials and brought them right to their doorstep. It is as if the food planted its own seeds and walked into the store to find its place on the market shelf itself. “The material relations between people, become social relations between things.” And what of the things we are grateful for, are they always justified? If someone is getting a low salary to make some sort of living, are they to be grateful for their salary because there are people with no jobs at all? Shouldn’t they instead be angry at their “superiors” who in most cases could give them a raise without a decrease in their lifestyle? Or better yet, the whole structure of society that prevents such a thing from happening?
Evidently, gratitude isn’t always unjustified. On an individual level, in our most basic human relations, it is a necessary expression of our interdependence, like my gratitude for my family and community. However, if it abstracts from the real people working behind the scenes, masks the real relations between people, and instead gets attributed to mystical beings, it becomes self-serving and ideological.
Image Citation: https://www.skipprichard.com/7-elements-of-leadership-gratitude/
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