I'm not surprised that gratitude jars are a thing but it leads back to what I believe about humanity and about our happiness. The big issue is we've monetized almost every aspect of our lives or someone else has done that for us and we've been lulled into complying.

I believe some money (or a cost) needs to be spent in order to be happy, but it depends on how it's being spent. I recall Mark Manson saying even self-care can just be eating a salad. Whether it's store-made or made yourself, the ingredients cost money.

Some consumerism is needed, but we've gone well past that point to now thinking we need apps to fix ourselves or to buy more stuff and contradict so much of our way of life as you put it that we miss the entire point of what it means to be happy with ourselves. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us as always, Jessica.