Mama said there’d be days like this. Days where you’re behind on your bills, various unpleasant obligations are piling up around you, your relationships (or lack thereof) have all boarded the Failboat and to top it all off, you have mono. And sometimes, you just need a pick-me-up that doesn’t involve kittens or overly saccharine sentiments.  For those who want that warm, fuzzy feeling with sincerity but without the gross, Chicken Soup For The Soul-evoking feeling after, there is an alternative.

Meet your new favorite emergency happiness Tumblr, the Encyclopedia of Gratitude.

According to the website, crimefighter-by-day-author-by-night Erich Origen got the idea for the Encyclopedia while working on his last book, the also awesomely-named graphic novel The Adventures of Unemployed Man. ‘I spent a lot of time dressed up in orange spandex as Unemployed Man, listening to the stories of the struggling and out of work from California to the New York islands,’ he writes. ‘I myself was also struggling—and becoming more aware of the things I was truly grateful for.’

His goal is to fill the encyclopedia with 365 reasons to be grateful — and he’s got more than 100 so far on the blog. And they range from the silly and whimsical (‘People Who Earn A Living Wearing A Costume For Our Amusement,’ ‘The Call of A Giraffe’) to the pop-culture-referencing (Elton John & Bernie Taupin, ‘Dancing In The Street,’ Morris Buttermaker & Refusing to Win At All Costs), from the easily-overlooked things (Apples, Glass, All The Nice Stuff You Bought When You Had Money) to the intangible and profound (Friends You Can Call At 2 A.M., Personal Landmarks, Shared Experiences). See? Just from this list alone, I can see you getting a hint of a smile. Start reading some posts, and I guarantee it will turn into a full-on grin.

Also, if you heart this as much as we do, you can help Erich get the book published by supporting the project on Kickstarter.

[Thanks to the good people at GOOD for making us aware of this magical project.]

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