How to Live a Grateful Life (a Lesson from our Dark Past)

**Originally published on my blog in April 2017**

We argued for about an hour about peanut butter. Then she took the kids and left. I was all alone.

It wasn’t really about peanut butter; it was about me being an asshole.

The biggest arguments always arise from the most stupid starting points. There’s always an underlying reason.

In our house, that reason is usually me.

Most days I wake up happy, energised and ready to go, regardless of what I’ve got going on. I embrace the day for what it is – an amazing new experience in this world to learn and have some fun.

But some days I just feel like I can’t face anything.

I want to sulk and I want to be alone.

I push everybody away, especially those closest to me. They think it’s about them and take it personally, but it’s always about me. Sometimes I feel like a failure.

Then the next day I’m 100 miles an hour again and life is back to what it was before. I’m unbelievably happy and motivated.

The sunniest days come after the biggest thunderstorms.

This week we went to York to have a great family day out and to teach the kids more about the history of our great country.

York has an incredible and troubled history. A history over 1000-years-old with buildings still standing and functional from the 14th century.

We went to the dungeons for a journey through the ages. We saw the Vikings, a plague doctor and the corpse of a plague victim. We went through the torture chambers, saw public executions and they burnt witches at the stake.

I attacked a Duke with an axe so I had to go on trial in the old courtroom. The judge screamed down at me from the top of the court while I was on the stand…

To escape execution, I had to repeat in front of the group, “I will never get my chopper out in public and wave it in another man’s face again!”

The kids wondered why all the adults were laughing.

“Was that a joke or something Matt?”

Never mind child.

The whole experience seemed to mortify the kids. These days if we run out of peanut butter at home when one of the kids wants it, the world ends. And they leave me alone in the house to ponder over my actions.

Thou shalt never forget this essential item again if one wants to keep one’s head!

What would those suffering from the Black Death think looking at that situation?

Perspective

We’re incredibly lucky to live in the times we do. If we’re born a peasant we don’t have to be one forever.

We have good health and long lives. You can shoot rabbits, steal sheep and commit treason and you probably won’t get beheaded.

We can pretty much do what we want. Anyone can make their life whatever they want it to be.

Yet so many of us are miserable and have bad days like I do. Maybe there are higher expectations of us now and we want to make the most of our opportunity to live a remarkable life?

Maybe we put too much pressure on ourselves and on others?

Whatever. I don’t want to overthink it anymore.

Whenever I have a bad day in the future I’m going to remind myself of what life could have been like had I been born 400 years earlier.

At 31, I would probably be nearing the end of my life expectancy, yet right now I feel young, vibrant and ready to go.

I’m only just beginning to live my life how I want to.

I feel fortunate and motivated. I want to create an amazing life for me and my closest peasants. I don’t want them to have to steal sheep to survive.

And most importantly… no matter what happens, I will never get my chopper out in public again.

-Matthew Brown

Related – Why You Don’t Have to Worry About Anything Anymore

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