This post is the third in a mini-series on seven foundational principles for living gratefully. The first and second principles are discussed here and here.

Let’s be honest. We live in an imperfect world. Things fall apart. Evil, suffering, and injustice are everywhere. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. And sometimes, bad people win. There’s no sugar-coating it—sometimes, life sucks.

One of my former colleagues passed away in her early 50s after battling lung cancer. She was a brilliant scholar and a wonderful human being—it’s hard to make sense of the suffering inflicted on her and her family.

Wait. You might be thinking—aren’t you the gratitude guy?

Yeah, I am. But gratitude isn’t unbridled positive thinking. There’s a time and place for everything. As the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us: “A time to weep and a time to laugh.” We don’t have to be 100% positive all the time.

Here’s a paradox: A small dose of negative thinking—acknowledging........

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