Be Thankful

In my first week at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless I have learned and noticed many things. It would take more time than I have to write and more time than you have to read to document all my thoughts and musings here on this blog, but I thought one thing in particular was worth pointing out.

Homeless people, perhaps understandably, complain a lot. They complain about their health problems. They complain about their relationship problems. They complain about their financial problems. On and on it goes. All of this might seem like a bit of what you would expect at a homeless shelter, but when I went to my second (or is it third) job at Starbucks, I found that people there, surprisingly enough, complain as well. People complain about the way their coffee drink was made. Coworkers complain if we are too busy. Coworkers complain if we are too slow. I hear people complaining about their kids. I hear people complaining about their jobs. Even away from the homeless shelter, on and on it goes.

Then it dawned on me: it seems to be human nature to complain regardless how well life is actually going. From the lowest of the low, to people who can regularly pay $5 for a cup of coffee, people are, by and large, whiners. Why? Do we like drama that much? Do we want attention? Does pitty make us feel that good? Are we that egocentric? Are we unaware that there are people who are actually suffering and aren't having to invent problems to complain about? Silliness I call it. The whole business is silliness.

This is your friendly reminder to be thankful and grateful this week. Life is rarely as bad as we think it is, and almost never as bad as it could be. We have much to be grateful for. I could probably go on some poetical spill about the splendor of the sunrise and the simple pleasure of taste buds, but you know that I am right without another diatribe from me. Just be thankful.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. " -St. Paul