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Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life.

Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at DailyStoke.com.

Now, more than ever, you have to find this. On this day of American Thanksgiving, we're supposed to make time to give thanks to actively think about that word which has become almost cliche in wellness circles, gratitude.

But what is gratitude? Some people think of it as being thankful for all the good things you have in your life. Others see it as the act of acknowledging what other people have done for you and what you appreciate about others.

While the Stokes would have agreed that what those interpretations encompass was all important, they practiced a slightly different form of gratitude. It was more inclusive and counterintuitive.

It wasn't about acknowledging or being thankful just for the good, but for all of life. Convince yourself that everything is the gift of the gods.

Sound Marcus really has put it, that things are good and always will be. The first word there is everything. The other key word is convince. Meaning you have to tell yourself that it's all good, even the so-called bad stuff.

Is it possible to be grateful for a year that has been as difficult as 2020? A pandemic that's claimed the lives of nearly 1.5 million people across the globe that has produced layoffs and lockdowns.

And then there are the wildfires, the hurricanes, contested elections, civil unrest and horrible moments of inhumanity seemingly everywhere you turn.

We didn't create these problems, but they did happen. And while they weren't our fault, it's up to us what we do with them, what we turn them into, how we manage to become better for them.

And it's that glimmer of light, especially with the passage of time, that will allow us to find something to be grateful for in the darkness of these times.

In discourses, Epictetus says it is easy to praise provenance for anything that may happen if you have two qualities, a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance in a sense of gratitude.

On the surface, much of what we're upset about or wish hadn't occurred is so objectionable that gratitude seems impossible.

But if we can zoom out for that more complete view, understanding and appreciation can emerge.

First off, you're alive. That's the silver lining of every shitty situation should not be forgotten.

But second, everything that has happened and is happening is bringing you to where you are.

It's contributing to the person you have become. That is a good thing. This understanding, Epictetus said, helps you see the world in full color in the color gratitude.

The Stokes believe that we should feel gratitude for all the people and events that form our lives. We shouldn't just be thankful for the gifts we receive or our relationships with friends and family.

We should also be aware of and grateful for the setbacks and the annoyances for the difficult co-workers and the nagging in-laws for the stress they put on us and whatever other difficulties we might be experiencing.

Why? Because it's all of those things interconnected and interdependent that made you who you are and what you are today.

It's only by seeing the totality of these things good and bad that you gain the understanding necessary to be truly grateful.

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