Escaping Enlightenment

My wife found a t-shirt for me (at a thrift store) of all places.  The t-shirt was from the A Complaint Free World website, which has a quote from Maya Angelou that says “If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.  Don’t complain.”.  My wife knows me so well.

This reignited the fire about a complaint free world, and I visited their website.  I learned that Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri introduced a bill last July to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving an official “Complaint Free Wednesday” in the US.  H.Con.Res.404 is currenltly in committee.

In reading blog comments about the proposed bill, there is so much negativity about it.  Comments that this bill violates the first amendment, we’re moving closer to 1984, or that Congress is wasting tax dollars.  Not surprisingly, the commenter’s blogs are full of negativity, complaining, and paranoid dellusions.  Why do people fight so hard against positive attitudes?  Are we, as people, so content with being miserable to each other that we would rather complain about a compaint-free holiday than to look at the positive aspects?

My Complaint-Free 21 day challange was a very difficult challenge.  Honestly, I didn’t even complete it.  I failed, miserably.  The longest I was able to go without a complaint was about 3 days.

So, I’m going to try to stop complaing again.  I cannot tell people to stop complaining if I am still complaining.  I cannot urge my Congressman to support this bill if I do not practice the ideals myself.

In an attempt to stop complaining, my first goal is to have a more grateful attitude.  Gratitude, in essence, is the opposite of a complaint.  If you are truely grateful, there is no room to complain.  Happiness and Gratitude go hand in hand.  Have you ever met a happy person who wasn’t grateful?  Happiness is a result of having gratitude for everything.

One could complain about anything, if they so desired, but it takes a little more effort to focus on being grateful.  Instead of complaining that there isn’t enough room in your house, be grateful you have a home.  Instead of complaining about your boss who has it out for you, be grateful that you have a job.  Instead of complaining about the rain, be grateful that your grass and plants are being watered - for free!

Every moment is a choice; you can choose to be grateful for everything you have or you can choose to stick your nose up and complain about how it isn’t enough.  Being grateful will lead you to being humble, content, and happy.  Complaining will lead you to depression, misery, and jealousy.  

Which works better for you?