The Bright Side

As far back as I can remember I've been the kind of person that, when faced with difficulties, meets them head on. In fact, some people might think that I enjoy complications, challenges and trials. I try to have a good attitude and to remain positive. Life always has a bright side. We learn and grow from the times where life is rough more than when life is smooth.

Every Monday night we have a "Family Home Evening" and along with the important games and dessert, we have a lesson where we discuss something that is meaningful. This week the lesson was up to me. I consulted the citation index and found a talk entitled "Murmur Not". The title was intriguing to me and I started to think about all the things we complain about: some legitimate and some less so. It seems to be part of human nature to complain.

I was amused and horrified to find that there are such things as "Complaints Choirs" which are springing up all over the world (Birmingham's was the first one- what a proud moment) that get together to gripe about such things as infrequent buses, rude people in fast cars and their jobs. Maybe it is pretty funny to put your complaints to music- maybe it's even therapeutic!- but it's hardly inspiring. Some of the people I know that have the most reason to complain are the least likely to do so and that has a much more profound effect on people than singing about petty niggles.

The complaints that we came up with in our Family Night were: wasps, people complaining about the weather, people cracking their knuckles, roundabouts and fiddly jobs at work. We had some cheerful bouts of grumbling about these things and then looked at some scriptural examples of grumbling.

The people of Moses were world class grumblers. They were given manna and then complained that they needed water.

Perhaps my favourite depiction of murmuring is Tevye from 'Fiddler on the Roof'. He's a good man and he is in constant communication with God despite the fact that most of the time it is to complain.

"Dear God. Was that necessary? 

Did you have to make him lame just before the Sabbath? That wasn't nice. 

It's enough you pick on me. Bless me with five daughters, 

a life of poverty, that's all right. But what have you got against my horse?

Really, sometimes I think, when things are too quiet up there 

you say to yourself 

'Let's see what kind of mischief can I play on my friend, Tevye?' "...

"Well, I'm not really complaining. 

After all, with your help, I'm starving to death.

Oh, dear Lord! You made many, many poor people. 

I realise, of course, it's no shame to be poor. 

But it's no great honour either. 

So what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?"

I guess in reality there is nothing wrong with complaining if we are genuinely expressing concern in the right way. Often if we raise these correctly we'll find out that there are reasons that those things are the way they are that we didn't appreciate before. But murmuring tends not to be productive especially when we are comparing our lives unfavourably with the lives of those around us. 

When we moan about things we tend to miss all the wonder that there is around us. I found a picture of a group of people on safari who are looking one way at animals far off in the distance while a huge male lion watches their backs from metres away. I hope we all see the incredible things that surround us daily even if they are simple. To someone else, they might not be so simple. 

I've been grateful over the past few days for the sun, time spent with family, water, a phone, recommendations from friends, reading, the motivation of those around me, and that life is not static. I love the changes that are taking place at the moment. Change is overwhelming, scary and it presents challenges but I am so glad that our lives were never intended to be a walk in the park. I love that we are pushed to excel by our comfort zone sometimes being removed so that have to walk for a while in the darkness. 

For the record and for conclusion: 

I have absolutely no reason to complain.