 |
| Photo Credit: erdenebayar from morgueFile.com |
I love to laugh and I
love to make others laugh as well. I
treasure hanging out with people who make me giggle. I enjoy reading things that make me chuckle
too. So, it was perfect and timely that Mikey sent me this email
funny:
The priest said,
"Sister, this is a silent monastery.
You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until
directed to do so."
Sister Mary lived in the monastery for 5 years before the priest said to her, “Sister Mary, you have been here for 5 years. You may speak two words."
Sister Mary said, "Hard bed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the priest said, "We will get you a better bed."
After another 5 years, Sister Mary was summoned by the priest. "You may say another two words, Sister Mary."
"Cold food," said Sister Mary, and the priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.
On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the priest again called Sister Mary in to his office. "You may say two words today."
"I quit," said Sister Mary. "It's probably best," said the priest, "You've done nothing but complain since you got here."
Sister Mary lived in the monastery for 5 years before the priest said to her, “Sister Mary, you have been here for 5 years. You may speak two words."
Sister Mary said, "Hard bed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the priest said, "We will get you a better bed."
After another 5 years, Sister Mary was summoned by the priest. "You may say another two words, Sister Mary."
"Cold food," said Sister Mary, and the priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.
On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the priest again called Sister Mary in to his office. "You may say two words today."
"I quit," said Sister Mary. "It's probably best," said the priest, "You've done nothing but complain since you got here."
So super duper cute,
huh?! I loved it!
It’s one thing for me to laugh, but when I finish up all my snickerin’,
cacklin’, hootin’, and hollerin’, I find it fascinating if the joke is actually
thought-provoking. And, this one prompted some thought. It got me to thinking about complaining.
Complaining. Hmmm.
That’s something we all do. Some of
us more than others. Some of us WAAAAAY
more than others. Why? Complaining is draining. It is.
Why do we even get on the Complain Train? Some of us hop on the train first thing in
the morning. Some wait until
mid-day. Others have a bit more
self-control and get on the train only at night or every other day. Let’s be honest and say that most of us have been
a passenger on the Complain Train at some point in our lives. Heck, some of us just live on the train and
never get off! Ha!
We groan. We moan.
We
complain…about anything or anyone really…the weather, our clothes, our job, our
home, our body, someone else, our kids, our spouse, our siblings, our parents, our
neighbor, etc. But, complaining stops us
from gaining. Yes, it can prevent us
from gaining peace, contentment, joy, and happiness. It thwarts our ability to be thankful for
what we DO have. The happiest people I
know don’t HAVE the best of everything. However,
they do MAKE the best of everything. I
admire those people immensely.
We’re still in January,
right? We’re technically still at the beginning of
this new year and possibly still in the mode to modify some of our
less-than-desirable ways? Maybe? Well, I have a little challenge if you’re
game. Let’s take baby steps together and
let’s be realistic. We probably won’t be
able to stop complaining altogether.
However, we can set ourselves a time limit for our complaining. We can set a time each day to get on the
Complain Train. We can set a time to get
on and, most importantly, we can set a time to get off of it.
Let’s say we board the
Complain Train at 8:00pm. We can then pour
out our complaints from the day, one after the other, on and on and on. To ourselves.
To someone else. To God. Then, at 8:15pm (or 11:00pm – depending on
the day! Heh!), we can get off of that train and vow not to get back on until
the next day at 8:00pm. No complaining
until we get on the train. That’s the
rule.
It’s kinda crazy and a tad
goofy, but the idea is to set a time limit to our complaining instead of
residing on the Complain Train all day, every day. It’s not healthy. It’s energy-zapping for us and those around
us, for sure.
Anyway, the Sister Mary
joke provoked all that thought about complaining. Interesting, huh? Since happiness is an “inside job,” it will
depend on the glasses we use. What we
SEE in this life depends on how we LOOK at it.
Will we complain or will we appreciate?
The choice is truly up to us. The
number of times we hop onto the Complain Train is up to us, and how long we
stay there is too!
Ooohhhh, I have a HUGE
challenge to put out there for the real dare-devils of the bunch: What if we don’t board the Complain Train at
all for ONE WHOLE WEEK?! Is that even
possible? Are you in? Just think about how much time that would
free up for us to do the things we love!
No comments:
Post a Comment