Are you grateful? Need a reminder to remember why?

There are times in life.  We've all had them.  Despite so many things to be thankful for, we can easily find dumb little other pains to worry about.  We forget about just how lucky we were to be born.  After all, just think of the odds!  Especially here in the U.S. we have riches and a cultural structure that generally allows us tremendous freedom and opportunity.  Yet somehow it is often not enough.

Well, what if I told you I had a way to, like a rush of steam, to remind you of all the wonderful things that you've forgotten to focus on while wallowing in the muck.  Using input from you and readily available public data, I can do this.  But I haven't done it yet.

Now, let's be honest.  There's an awful lot of talk out there about being grateful.  It is/was a big part of "The Secret" and is a regular topic for Oprah, Dr. Phil and the like.  But you simply cannot tell someone what to be grateful for, can you?  Isn't that like telling someone they "don't look fat in those jeans"?  Even if it is incredibly obvious to you, it has to be apparent to them. 

So, enter idea from idea book (right below). 

I'm not sure if you can read all that so I will read it for you.  OK there.  Got it?

Basically this is a website that starts with a list of 100 questions.  Simple enough, right?  These 100 questions are specially crafted to learn your complete life situation.  Once you have completed your answers and the machine whirrs and lights flash, a report is generated that identifies 10 things that separate you from others in your community, state, country and in the world.  This executive summary is followed by a very detailed report about your comparative results.

How does it work?  Well, I have absolutely no idea.  But what I like is the ability of this report to not only identify all the facts that make up your life but to begin comparing them to those also living on this planet.  I know what you are thinking.  How despicable that I resort to comparisons with those less fortunate to make myself feel better.  It doesn't sound very Christian to do that and it doesn't feel very in tune with Buddhism to need to do so.  We should all just "be".  I get it.  And you are right.

Continuing with the idea.  Each participant would have the option of updating a portion of the test (those areas that are more likely to change like health) on a monthly or quarterly basis.  But most would do it annually.  Once a year (Thanksgiving Day) you would get a report that reminds you of your relative position in life.

For a few simple examples: 

Q: How many kids do you have?  A: 4

DATA:  The average family in the U.S. has 2.5 kids.  The average family in China has 1.

Q: Does anyone in your family get sick on a regular basis or have a disease?  A:  No.

DATA:  The average family in the U.S. has .4 sick or diseased family members.  In Africa the number is three times the U.S. average.

So, the things I like about this idea:

1. Everyone gets a tangible reminder on a key day of thanks
2. There is an education angle here (for parents and kids) 
3. The education could lead to a bit more humility and understanding of this world. 
4. Who wouldn't want to see if next year they aren't relatively more better off than in prior years?(kind of like a life version of the stock market - scary that I even said that . . .)   

That's it - what do you think?