I have reached that level in my life where I can both take and give a chiding. So, today, I am going to rant! I am going to complain about complainers. (What does that make me, right?)

I have honestly had enough. Enough of hearing people complain and whine about all the things that are apparently going wrong in the world and their lives. I’ve found myself feeling drained by people fussing about all the petty things that they are giving room to kill their happiness. Truth is that whether you know it or not, this nonsense is trying to cut into my own happiness.  And, that is something I am absolutely not going to allow.

So, come on! Let’s put a stop to this!

Some of you are faced with big, enormous challenges and difficulties – and I admire your strength and perseverance. I respect you for how you are handling them. And I pray you find the solutions to whatever that problem may be and speedily too.

But I’ve got to say that there are people who have made it a point of duty to growl and grumble about everything and everyone, no matter how mundane or insignificant the situation may be.  And, for those people, there is no nice way of saying this, so I am just going to say it … “Shut the heck up!”

Please, realize that the driver in front of you or behind you might not drive as well (or as badly) as you drive.

Believe me, that traffic jam was not put there just to annoy you.

Accept that there will be days when your internet connection will go slow.

Understand that your boss might just be having a bad day.

Be aware that the bank staff or that clerk at the city hall is not out to get under your skin. And, believe me, I know that some of them could be what the Spanish will call ‘toca pelotas’. (Yeah! Go figure that one out!)

The government can not solve all your problems, not even if they tried, and we know that they hardly ever do.

Your tax papers will always be a pain somewhere…

The light! Your spouse! Your kids! The neighbours and their kids! The heat. The cold. The rain. Money or the lack of it! No work. Too much work. Deadlines. Spam. Computers with 1GB of RAM that take 25 seconds to delete a zero-byte file. Sales people. The phone. The dishwasher. The washing machine. The stress! Oh! The stress!

Enough!!

For the love of God and all that is holy! Stop complaining!

I hate to break it to you, but there’s no conspiracy against you. The entire world is not ganging up against you and what’s more, you should probably reflect and check what part you are playing in whatever it is you are going on about. Stop blaming everyone else.

Take a moment to remind yourself of the things that are going well for you. Focus for a minute on something that will make your heart open up to joy. Be grateful for what you have.

I have to say that I do feel indeed fortunate knowing that the people I choose to surround myself with typically aren’t prone to let something like a flat tire, a rainy day or broken nail ruin their day and subsequently mine.

They generally understand that these things are just stuff that happen along the way in this Life. All part of life.

They have learnt that it is always a better option to just choose to tackle problems than merely complaining about them.

And, so today, I beg you, quit moaning and beefing about that nagging situation. Think about what you can do to solve it. Look for solution. By all means, talk to a friend or anyone you choose to, but please do it with a view to finding solutions, and not talking just for the sake of it.

It is true what they say, that if you want to overcome your own problems, find someone who has a bigger problem than you do, help them solve it, and not only does their problem go away, but pretty soon yours doesn’t seem like such a big problem after all.

And, wherever you might find yourself, remember the serenity prayers:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

No matter how bad you’ve got it, there are people elsewhere whose stories are much worse. There are billions of people that will gladly trade places with you, there are people who would give anything to be in your shoes. There are people fighting different shades of cancer. People with physical disabilities. People with mental sickness. There are people in the face of tangible dangers, of famine, terrorism, of wars and of death.

You are still alive and probably healthy… You still probably have food to eat. Shelter over your head. A car or enough money to pay for public transport. If you’re reading this, that means you still have got your sight and most if not all your senses functioning… What more could you ask for ?

I mean, really – stop and think about that.

Oh, and when you absolutely do feel the need to vent, do it without making your entire day or life one endless sad tale of gloom and misfortune.

ok, rant over!

I, and everyone reading this ought to remain grateful for the gift of live and continuously strive to find and keep both the courage and the strength to overcome every challenge or setback or inconvenience that life will throw our way. Did I mention that there will be many of them?