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  1. The AtlanticScott Barry Kaufman8/18/215 min
    25 reads11 comments
    9.6
    The Atlantic
    25 reads
    9.6
    You must read the article before you can comment on it.
    • Jessica2 years ago

      Really enjoyed this article and all the links to what may be additional thought-provoking reads! I always appreciate a dose of Viktor Frankl.

      Part of being human is that we will forget our past suffering and start to take our current life for granted. But as Nelson notes, “The work is to remember more often than we forget.”

      🙏

      • Karenz
        Scribe
        2 years ago

        I had never heard the term “toxic positivity” but I’ve sure felt what it means when someone has tossed it my way in the middle of a crisis. Ouch!!! Terrific read and now that term, “toxic positivity” is in my lexicon!!!

    • DellwoodBarker2 years ago

      Excellent.

      But as Nelson notes, “The work is to remember more often than we forget.”

      Imagining this quote should be used carefully so as to not slip into toxic nostalgia…healthy remembering is 👌. Also healthy to forget in balance.

      • thorgalle
        Top reader this weekScoutScribe
        2 years ago

        A very valid point! No sense in idolizing the past. I think it is a bias of us humans to mostly remember the good parts from our past. But then again, the sentence before this one was:

        Part of being human is that we will forget our past suffering and start to take our current life for granted.

        Maybe, remembering where we came from, the challenges we faced (and overcame, or not?) might be humbling. We may feel that we've dealt with hardship before, and we can do so again. But it's difficult. I suppose writing helps.

    • gorillasaurus2 years ago

      Powering through. Seeing beauty and meaning in every situation.

      Combination of stoicism and many other things I guess.

      • Pegeen
        Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
        2 years ago

        Fabulous read! You brought the light today!

      • thorgalle
        Top reader this weekScoutScribe
        2 years ago

        Today I am grateful to see a gorillasaurus scout! 🦖Seeing beauty and meaning in every situation: YES.

        I'm also grateful for the privileged situation I had throughout the pandemic. Articles like these certainly make me feel that. The existential gratitude thought sounds a bit daunting though, like answering the question "overall, do you like living?". No would be a troublesome answer 🤔

    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      A MUST read! Too many lines to quote but here’s my favorite: “Gratitude is not just a switch to turn on when things go well; it’s also a light that shines in the darkness.”

    • Florian2 years ago

      Love this:

      Until we realize that things might not be, we cannot realize that things are

    • thorgalle
      Top reader this weekScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      Telling someone to “stay positive” in the middle of a global crisis is missing out on an opportunity for growth, not to mention likely to backfire and only make them feel worse.

      A perfect elaboration on this can be found in an other The Atlantic article by Arthur C. Brooks; "Those Who Share a Roof Share Emotions".

      “Until we realize that things might not be, we cannot realize that things are.”

      Here's one quote to save!

      • Jessica2 years ago

        That quote made me pause for a moment to let it sink in. Definitely a quote to save!