...thinking positively.
...untangling a really vicious yarn clump without resorting to scissors
...the crusty cheese bits that you peel off the baking sheet after eating nachos
...encountering a jasmine vine in full bloom cascading over a backyard fence on my way home in the evening
...meeting up with a long-lost friend and feeling like it's only been a day since you last got together
...shiny, shiny shoes
...this: http://1x.com/photo/34737
It's so easy to complain. I think people are hard-wired for sympathy, to make encouraging noises and soothe other people in distress. When we pour our hearts out often we're just seeking other people's approval of our negative feelings, to justify our having them. Once this occurred to me, I made my mind up to try and cut out complaining.
This has been an imperfect solution--I often fail to ask for things I need because I'm wary of being seen as unsatisfied or demanding, but then I can't solve my problems and i become miserable as well. Look! there I go again, airing my grievances publicly! And here comes the associated guilt...first for complaining, then for apologising about complaining, then about not calling my mother often enough...silly human!
So I wanted to to take a few moments to reflect on those things about which one cannot really complain, the small pleasures in life that sustain us, that make it possible to tolerate austerity and disregard fear-mongering. The best things in life really are free, because if you could only get them if you had money, they wouldn't be
the best.
