We Could All Use a Little Change

2020-05-12 · review / recommendation · John · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Philosophy & meaning (also: Everyday life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: heavy topic

John says Kurzgesagt's gratitude journal is a rare book that changed his life: writing daily what he is grateful for, with his brain problems amplified by wider problems, lets him feel rather than merely know his gratitude, mostly to other people, and shows him he is not alone.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — A book that changed John's life: Kurzgesagt's gratitude journal, and his history of unused journals

• ★★★ John says a gratitude journal made by Kurzgesagt is a rare single book that has made a lasting and significant change in his life. — 00:00:00
• ★★ John says every book shifts his perspective somehow and his life is almost always richer for having read one, even a book that wasn't particularly good. — 00:00:00
• ★★ John praises Kurzgesagt's videos as phenomenally beautiful and informative. — 00:00:00
• ★★ John says Kurzgesagt made a video about gratitude and the evidence that a strong sense of gratitude is good for human health and well-being. — 00:00:29
• ★★ John has a long history of buying journals he never writes in, hoping a purchase will bridge the person he is and the person he wishes to be; this time it worked. (playful) — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — How the journal works, his kids' cheap notebooks, the simple daily idea, and the great horned owl

• ★★ John describes the journal: it moves from noticing hypothetical gratitude to concrete daily entries, with scientific studies and reflection exercises; he calls it wonderful and links it. — 00:00:58
• ★ John's kids keep gratitude journals with him in 30-cent notebooks, which also work. — 00:00:58
• ★★★ John says the idea is simple, writing down every day what you are grateful for; doing it these last months has changed how he feels about human life. — 00:01:27
• ★★ John and Alice spotted a great horned owl in the backyard, researched its yellow eyes and watched videos; he wrote gratitude for the owl-enthusiast internet, the owl and the backyard. — 00:01:27 · Alice Green, YouTube

00:01:56 — Brain problems amplified; knowing versus feeling gratitude; gratitude to teachers, Hank and strangers; not being alone

• ★★★ John says that, like many people, his brain problems have been dramatically amplified by the wider problems, making it hard at times to think straight. — 00:01:56 · mental disorder
• ★★★ John says he always said he had a lot to be grateful for but didn't know it, attending only to what he yearned for, such as a brain that handles a crisis well. — 00:02:26
• ★★★ John says writing a few minutes daily, focused on what he is thankful for, lets him not just know but feel that he has much to be grateful for. — 00:02:26
• ★★ John is grateful for owls, spring, safe food and water and his family's health, but mostly writes gratitude to other people for their generosity. — 00:02:55
• ★★ John is grateful to his kids' teachers for e-learning with almost no preparation and to his own teachers, many now gone, whose love still holds him together. — 00:02:55
• ★★ John is grateful to Hank for keeping things running with compassion and determination. — 00:02:55 · Hank Green
• ★★ John is grateful to strangers whose work brings him joy and comfort, from Mohamed Salah to Mary Oliver. — 00:03:24
• ★★★ John says feeling grateful shows him he is not alone, that distant or lost loved ones' love is still with him, so he can make it through one day at a time. — 00:03:24

00:03:53 — Thanks to Kurzgesagt, 'we could all use a little change', sign-off

• ★ John thanks Kurzgesagt: the little book really changed his life, and we could all use a little change. — 00:03:53

In the description and comments

• ★★ In a comment John says the journal is possibly the best $24 he has ever spent, but pencil and paper also work. — creator comment
• ★★ In a comment John discloses that DFTBA, which he part-owns, ships the journals in the US, but he gets no income from DFTBA; it all goes to charity. — creator comment · DFTBA Records
• ★ Asked in a comment whether he picks the All Star lyric or the video's subject first, John claims to have no idea what the viewer means. (playful) — creator comment

Threads in this video

• variation · Vlogbrothers videos titled with Smash Mouth's All Star lyrics (2020) — The title We Could All Use a Little Change continues the All Star lyric titles.
• refine · Is the internet, including social media, good for people? — John and Alice spotted a great horned owl in the backyard, researched its yellow eyes and watched videos; he wrote gratitude for the owl-enthusiast internet, the owl and the backyard. (00:01:27)

Mentioned

Central: gratitude · Gratitude Journal · Kurzgesagt

Also: Alice Green · great horned owl · Internet · Mary Oliver · mental disorder · Mohamed Salah · YouTube

Only in the description or credits: DFTBA Records

Also centred on gratitude: The Things that People Do (Thoughts from New York City) (Pizzamas Day 7) · My Greatest Tool Against Vaccine Misinformation · I am Grateful for My Worry · I Just Can't Do It Anymore · On Balance · My Deathday

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