Thursday, November 22, 2012

Complain, complain, complain


What does complaining ever really do for us? I have heard the argument that sometimes we just need to vent but after 46 years of trying the venting method, I can't recall one time that it actually made me feel better. I suspect more, I knew inside what I should have been doing and the venting was a way of just letting people know how tough things were and why I was not acting the way I knew I should be acting. I once heard someone say that if we had a cut on our  arm and it was beginning to heal, how much sense would it make to pick the scar, discuss with others how painful the injury had been and still was? Wouldn't it make much more sense to just let it heal? So than why do we feel so compelled to share our story of suffering and continue to pick the scabs? I won't speak for everyone but for me it seems that the struggles and difficulties of our lives define us. In other words, if my life was incredibly easy, "anyone could live it." On the other hand it would take a very special person to live through a difficult set of circumstances or life. This means that for me to have value, I need to have a difficult life and make sure everyone knows just how difficult things are for me. The problem is that once we finish trying to convince everyone just how hard things are, WE are the only ones left convinced, while they move on with their own lives. I would also suggest that anyone with a little bit of intelligence knows that all of our lives our challenging in their own way. I am trying to stop picking the wounds and to tell a different story about my life, so let me be the first to say, " My life is incredibly easy and I have been fortunate to be surrounded by such a great set of family and friends. I couldn't have picked a better career and I plan to dedicate as much time as possible helping those less fortunate." Now doesn't that feel better? It does for me