We’re very apt to whinge and complain about our lots and the things we miss out on. It’s our human nature, particularly when we compare ourselves with others--in keeping up with the Jones’s. A simple illustration is the tall poppy syndrome. How often are people who’re more successful than we, targeted unfairly out of envy? We’re a fickle lot at times.
We don’t very often consider that the biggest miracle of our lives is probably the very remarkable things that don’t happen to us. These are the devastating and catastrophic events that seem to happen to other people--this is not to lessen the issue for those who have been affected by life-changing events. Most of us are truly blessed to live unremarkable lives at least as far as things like the National News is concerned.
Now, whilst this might be true, we don’t acknowledge it in thankful ways very often. We’re always looking for more. Recently I achieved a much better level of fuel economy in my car; the improved performance was short-lived, however. When for some reason I ended up with the previous level of fuel economy I was somewhat miffed. I could have been grateful for the elevated performance that I did get. The same phenomenon is known when we get a bargain we didn’t have to haggle for... we think we should have offered an even lower price when the seller sells too easily and appears too happy.
We’re a pretty miserable lot. We don’t look for the silver lining to our clouds. But, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t. There’s plenty of suffering out there in the world if we take a look. There are stacks of examples of things we should be very happy for.
Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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