Grumbling and Complaining...On Grumbling

I have been a bad girl.

            What have I done?

            I have fallen into the trap of being a “grumbler”.

            What is a “grumbler”, you ask? “To grumble” means to mutter in discontent, to complain. One who does this is a “grumbler”.

            I have grumbled about the weather. It’s too windy. It’s too cold. It’s not sunny enough. It’s too hot. What am I accomplishing with this chatter?

             I have grumbled about politics. Well, duh. How has that helped things?

             I have grumbled about my aches and pains.

            I have grumbled about sitting at stop lights when driving in the city. I have grumbled about road delays. Grumble, mumble, sputter, and spew.

            It becomes a habit.

            The worst part of grumbling is that it accomplishes NOTHING. Oh, excuse me. It does accomplish something….Grumbling takes you down. It depresses, it demeans, and it does the same to those to whom you are grumbling.

            I am sorry, Fred. If I really work at it, I can grumble you into a pit too!

            So, I am presenting a challenge to me. We (me, myself, and I) are going to turn this boat around! I am going to start with this little challenge. As a start, one day a week, I will devote my day to thanking God for all the good things around me.  I will also thank Him IN everything because often times, those things that “appear” bad really bring about something that is good.

            A delay in plans may turn out to be a delay that saves my life. Never, ever underestimate a delay.  How many times have you come upon an accident on the road where you noticed that had you not stopped for a drink or to go to the bathroom, that YOU would have been in that accident?

            Or how often have you changed plans at the last moment, and received an important phone call because of your delay?

            Back to being thankful…..

            When I turn on the water spout to take a drink, I will be thankful for clean, plentiful, available water. After all, many in this world would give anything just to have clean water to drink. And many have to walk miles for that clean water, IF they are so fortunate.

            This may sound silly to you, but I think often of how grateful I am for toilets! My grandmother and her children had to go outside to the “out house”. Can you imagine having to trudge out in the freezing, windy, icy snow to go to the bathroom? Or how would you like to have to sit on a porcelain pot?

            I will be thankful for hot showers. Few in the world in history have experienced hot water pouring out of a little spigot in their homes under which to bathe.

            I will be thankful for dirty dishes. Dirty dishes mean that we have eaten and not gone hungry. We have enjoyed a meal. And I own a dishwasher!  Who on earth could ever complain about that! Oh but I have grumbled about having to unpack the full, clean dishes!

            I will thank God for plenty of food. Can you believe that I have grumbled about going to the grocery store, or having to stand in line? What on earth is the matter with me? Many are hungry. Many are without. And I have grumbled about needing to lose weight and needing to eat less…when so many …even little children…go to bed hungry and crying because their stomach hurts.

            I will look around at the grocery store and see who might need help. And I will thank God for all that He provides for me.

            Since I do not sleep well many nights, I will be thankful for a good night’s sleep when I have such an experience…and I will be thankful for a warm bed instead of a dirt floor. Many in the world sleep on a straw mat, on a dirt floor, with no blanket.

            Oh yes. And when I grumble about seeing new wrinkles in the mirror every day, or hair that won’t do what I want it to do, I will be thankful for eyes that see, for hair that covers my head, for teeth that chew, for ears that hear. I will not grumble about a hearing aid, or glasses, or having to go to the dentist, or to the doctor.  I will be thankful.

            Instead of griping and grinching about aches and pains, I will be thankful for arms and legs that work, and for hands that can hold a baby or hug a friend.

            Being thankful and shutting my grumbling mouth is an exercise in changing a mindset. Mindset=an imbedded way of thinking because of habit.

            Deciding to stop grumbling is a decision to not be mediocre. To have a thankful heart is to be happy. It is a step in the right direction.

            Decide today, self, to live with excellence and integrity.

            A good start is just to start! Just begin! One step at a time.