Ask HN: What are you grateful for?

[marclave]

happy holidays everyone, it's hard not to look back on the year but what are you grateful for in this moment?

i just visited my grandpa, and spent the afternoon going through old photos and hearing his stories. my grandma passed away this year and it's been pretty hard, but im grateful for today and for that moment with him.

[jll29]

I'm grateful that I am alive, that I can live in a safe environment where my life, well-being is not at risk. (At this time, I'm cognizant of the enormous suffering many people around the world have to endure, mostly human-created and unnecessary.)

I'm grateful for my wife and our wonderful child, and our family. (I am sorry for anyone out there who is lonely and/or has lost anyone recently.)

I'm grateful to be healthy enough to run an ordinary life. (I am sorry for those who suffer from disease or worry about their health.)

I'm incredibly grateful for being permitted to exercise my hobby as my profession, so I don't have to "work". (I wish everyone success in finding work, and finding meaning in what they do, who are currently unemployed or dread their jobs.)

I'm grateful for my education, which was free of charge and at the same time benefitted from top institutions and top teachers, despite not coming from a privileged background (well, relative to Western European standards). (I feel sorry for people who have to go into debt to get an education, or for whom an education is out of reach.)

I'm grateful for my personal library and HN to be able to read intellectually stimulating things. (I feel for all the people that have not had the chance to discover the pleasure of reading, or who have not yet discovered Hacker News.)

Just a thought: SOMEONE is grateful to SOMEONE for SOMETHING, it's a ternary predicate. The first slot is filled by you, the last slot is being polled here by this "Ask HN" request; since it's Christmas, think about that middle slot (to WHOM should you be grateful?).

[nick__m]

I’m grateful that my wife last CT-PET scan was clean. I am also grateful to have a gold plated drugs insurance plan that reimburse drugs that the public system doesn't... without that she would probably be dead.

I am grateful for my colleagues who covered for my diminished mental abilities (the trimestrial scans after a cancer recurrence are always nerve wreaking) and provided emotional support while we were awaiting the result of that scan. I wish I could properly thanks them instead of drowning in my feelings when I try to do so.

[BeefDinnerPurge]

You're not the only one grateful for successful cancer treatments this year. They really ought to be more broadly available than they are, and the constant nickeling and diming by the insurance companies over the course of the year is something for which I am distinctly not grateful. Also, my employer not firing me for being distracted whilst my wife was in treatment is another thing for which I am grateful. New Year's Resolution is to undo the bitrot that incurred and return to the front line of the AI Arms Race.

[Spooky23]

I lost my wife to cancer this year. It is heartbreaking and tragic on every level. I feel like a part of me died with her. I thought we’d beat it and was in shock when she passed - I don’t remember a month.

But still, I’m profoundly grateful for my friends, family and colleagues who have been there for my son and I in every sense of the word. Even in sadness and despair, i feel attuned to the light.

[Tolexx]

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you find the fortitude to get over it.

[plasma_beam]

I’m so sorry. I hope you can find some happiness in the holidays with your friends and family.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

This is an excellent question, and one that I think we should ask ourselves, every day.

Most times, I think we can usually come up with something.

I knew a guy that used to say “If you’re having trouble feeling grateful, start by being grateful that you’re not on fire, and work your way up, from there.” This was a chap who had, at one time, been on fire (and had the scars to show it).

[jesuschristmas]

Some years ago, a dude set himself on fire in front of my town's city hall.

It was a difficult year, and people took to the streets all over the country. They were not as divided by all the polarizing shit on the Internet yet.

So, early in the morning, this guy goes up to city hall with a can of gas. Cops come up to him, ask what he's doing. He says he's gonna set himself on fire unless the protesters' demands are met. I think that included the mayor's resignation, and rescinding the extortionate utility bills that everyone got that winter.

So the cops poured his can of gas all over him and lit the match. By the time I got to the hospital to donate blood, he had already left this pathetic excuse for a world to its own devices.

Well, a world where this shit happens isn't getting any gratitude from me, that's for sure.

Gets weirder.

Both his first name, and his last name, were rooted in our language's word for "fire". "Nomen est omen", as they say. Was he perhaps a pyromaniac, or destined to die by fire? Or did he never exist in the first place, the whole story being an early artifact of political technology, disseminated in order to get the mayor to resign (so that a guy who was actually good at graft could be elected)?

A world where I can't even be sure this shit really happened or some ad guys made up his entire story out of whole cloth to influence public opinion, isn't getting any gratitude from me, either. And idk if anyone's noticed, but that's the kind of world we've all been living in for some time.

So, if I ever caught fire, I would be grateful if the people who came to pour more fuel would at least be honest with themselves about what they're doing. And not frantically try to get me to convince them that they're actually pouring water, or ask me to justify the undesirability of being on fire in the first place. Because I've noticed a lot of people tend to do exactly that, any time someone is experiencing any form of suffering less obvious than being literally on fire.

[rayxi271828]

I'm grateful for my family, for my Mom, for the peace we're in. I'm grateful that I have the means to work out, to read books I want to read, and to rest when I need to. It's an incredible privilege. May you all be blessed abundantly.

I'm grateful for Hacker News. I'm not that vocal here, but I've lost count of the times HN has become my oasis of peace, no matter how fleetingly, in the periods of high pressure and stress in 2023.

[vood]

I'm grateful to have parents who in their age, have energy, health and financial freedom to join us for celebrations from overseas. I'm grateful for my parents to be friends to me and all my friends.

As someone said here, I'm extremely grateful for free quality higher education I have received in my home country. And I'm saddened that many are in student debts for decades.

I'm grateful to be in the best health I've been in last 10 years.

I'm grateful to myself for quitting alcohol more than a year ago and sticking with it.

I'm grateful, for the first time, to feel financially stable for many years to come.

I'm grateful to United States of America for being our home and safe harbor for the past 10 years, especially last 3, given the global instability.

[giis]

My father, who departed exactly 60 days ago on October 25th, began his journey in profound poverty. Throughout his life, he never harbored anger or resentment towards anyone. Always content with our circumstances, he lived a life that has only now made me realize that if I can emulate just 10% of his approach, I would consider myself a successful person. https://community.webminal.org/t/goodbye-my-great-father/827... I'm grateful that I'm his son.

[taosx]

Happy Holidays, everyone! I know it might sound a bit cheesy, but I'm truly grateful to be alive and kicking. These days, not having a job has been tough, but my family has been amazing - their support means the world to me. I'm also deeply thankful for technology and the internet. A big shoutout to everyone who plays a part in making the www so fascinating and accessible!

ps: if you're hiring nodejs/ts, rust or golang in EU I put my email in the profile/about.

[all2]

I'm grateful that my energy levels are improving in fits and starts after months of fatigue. Also for peaceful family time, a new engagement, and so much more I suppose (housing, delicious food, a warm bed, clothing, a mind relatively free of madness...).

And you guys. You guys are pretty darn excellent.

[Brendinooo]

Just read Christmas stories to my kids and put them to bed, now I’ll get to go downstairs and hang with my wife and get the final items on the list checked off.

What a beautiful thing.

[rnoorda]

I'm grateful for my (relative) health. Seeing family members during the holidays with chronic issues reminds me to not take 'feeling normal' for granted.

I'm grateful that I have people in my life who care about me and whom I care deeply for.

[monero-xmr]

Poor people can be rich in spirit and happiness, the rich poor in friends and full of misery. Every day I can walk, my family is alive, food on the table, and a roof over our heads, how can I be ungrateful? I don’t sweat the little day to day grievances. We have so much to be grateful for, in such a great country.

[jmye]

I’m grateful to be employed again. Was laid off in August, and without work for the first time in over twenty years. I’ve learned that I do not do well without work, especially given that my career field is more mission-driven than money-driven.

I’m grateful that I made connections who jumped to help once I got over feeling like I shouldn’t, and I’m grateful that my time without work was blessedly short, compared to others.

I’m grateful that I’ll have the opportunity to pay it forward for a few people in January, and I hope that I can find other ways to help folks beyond that.

And I’m grateful that I won whatever genetic lottery left me with no chronic issues, with the ability to run fast, and heal quickly from injury.

[valanha]

I am grateful for my daughter, my friend, and my cat. That I have a house, a job, stable food and income.

I am grateful that I am able to live my life relatively free and in relative safety, without needing to be ashamed or hide who and what I am. That I can live completely and authentically me, and by doing so, can live my values and principles.

But really, in the absence of all of that, I am just happy to be alive and see my daughter grow into the beautiful young adult she is becoming.

[apsurd]

it's true that being born in USA and speaking English is such a lottery win.

Being a human is hard and there's misery in everything if you look! I'm a fan of Cornel West so if you ask me "what it means to be human" is precisely to eyes-wide-open lean into the DYING of everything.

So this is not about how great the US is. I'm grateful to have fallen into a language that caters to more people than not. And to be relatively safe insofar as this is just a huge fucking nation and it's hard to invade.

I'm also missing out on a lot of things. But i count my blessings just the same.

[jumasheff]

I'm grateful for my kids, my wife, and that both our parents are alive. I am grateful to work on projects I enjoy and to have the means to pay for my kids' schooling and for yearly health screenings.

[trinsic2]

Greatful that I do not work for our current iteration of corporate America, that I provide services directly to the best customers I could ever have.

Grateful that I have a wife that loves me and I love what I do in this life.

[SeanAnderson]

I'm grateful to be in a financially stable position, with the strongest physical and mental health I've had all year, and to be surrounded by talented and loving friends and family. :)

[iancmceachern]

I'm grateful for my relative health. My cousin is dying of a brain tumor and is one year younger than me, so it puts it all in perspective.

My wife and I are "stuck home" this holiday, we normally travel to see our families, due to her recent injury. She is healing well and I'm so grateful to just be sitting here watching Lord of the Rings while she sleeps contently and our dogs eat their dinner.

Simple things are such a blessing. Bike helmets, a well fed dog, movies you love, cousins you grow up with. I love you Jeremiah.

[cowpig]

I'm grateful for the incredibly intricate and staggeringly complex systems that are completely invisible to me but provide me with everything I need to survive day in day out

[orzig]

My client had most of their money in Silicon Valley Bank. If there had been any haircut they would have (appropriately) put their employee payroll first. That was a scary time!

[ipunchghosts]

I am surrounded by ppl that love me and ppl I get to love. I have a stable job, roof over my head, and food. I am healthy and have plenty of time to enjoy the outside

[dtgriscom]

To quote Taggart from Blazing Saddles: "ditto!"

[macintux]

I’m grateful I’m employed. None of my job applications since September resulted in even a nibble, so I’m very glad my employer has kept me around.

[bigstrat2003]

I'm grateful for my friends and family (most especially my wife, and my parents who brought me up right), and that I'm fortunate enough to have interests + skills that happen to be very lucrative. Most of all, I'm thankful that God continues to be good to me, and has never given up on me even at my lowest moments.

[Horffupolde]

Being able to serve God.

[DontchaKnowit]

Im super grateful for family, especially nieves and nephews. Being an uncle has been such a joy.

I am grateful that in the last year, due to a particularly insightful HN comment, I was able to kick a couple pretty nasty habits and my health and mental stability is improving greatly as a result.

[testmasterflex]

Mind sharing that comment?

[wmichelin]

I am grateful for my wife, my dog, a roof over my head, and a job that enables a comfortable life. I am grateful for my mind, my curiosity, the life I have had that allowed me to learn these skills, and the people I had in my life that enabled the experiences that I have had.

[Havoc]

Growing up in a stable caring loving prosperous context. There is so much rough sht out there and that sort of context is I suspect an outlier even if it doesn’t seem like it to hn crowd

Birth is pure luck of the draw and I’m grateful fortune favoured me. If I were religious I’d say blessed

[javajosh]

I'm grateful for many things, like what other people have mentioned, like a certain level of material comfort, the joy of being paid to satisfy my innate curiosity. But above it all, I'm grateful for the health and well-being of my children!

[GauntletWizard]

I'm thankful for family and friends, a too rare resource. I'm thankful for my success in business, even if it's not as much as I'd like. I'm thankful for a warm house, good clothes and delicious food.

[CTmystery]

I'm grateful for the last several days spent w my family, including my 18 month old nephew who made us all absurdly happy. He is the first of the next generation in my family. Just a wonderful time

[thiago_fm]

First Xmas with my in-laws since I've moved to Germany around 9 years ago.

It definitely feels less lonely when family is around. Exchanged some presents and will go watch a ice hockey game soonish.

[cjohnson318]

I'm grateful for my kids, my wife and her family that are so welcoming and accepting of me, and that we can live in a place with a low crime rate and clean drinking water.

[nick222226]

I'm grateful for the little child snuggled up into my armpit sleeping, snoring softly. And my wife, my other child sleeping, and many other things as well

[distortionfield]

That when I got laid off this year, I had sensed the unease beforehand and saved up a grip of cash so I could weather my current bout of unemployment.

[barbariangrunge]

I’m grateful this year of endless death and disability of loved ones is over. Surely 2024 will be more merciful towards the people I care about

[Tolexx]

I'm really grateful for the gift of life, my family, parents etc. I'm full of hope and optimism that 2024 will be even better.

[NukedOne]

I'm really grateful that I have a brother.

[boring-alterego]

I'm lucky to be alive, grateful for family, friends, and a career.

Thankful that I get to spend time away from work and enjoy holidays.

[toomuchtodo]

Loved ones and basic needs met. Every day is a gift. Sorry for your loss, be present and mindful of time; this too shall pass.

[mise_en_place]

Grateful for my health and family, as imperfect as they may be.

[plasma_beam]

Extraordinarily grateful for my wife and little one.

[jayski]

that my wife and kids are alive and healthy, anything else is just icing on the cake for me.