A few weeks ago, the minister of my spiritual home (church) began a series based on the book “The Law of Attraction” by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I serve my church in a couple of capacities (I am its bookstore manager, and I am a Sunday School teacher for its teenagers), so I don’t always get to attend a service.
As fate would have it, I happened to be free to actually sit in on a service. The topic was “Living a Complaint-Free Life.” My minister wanted to initiate a program for Lent. Everyone in attendance was given a magenta wristband with the word “INSPIRED” etched into it. The program goes as follows: You choose to wear the wristband and make a commitment to live a complaint-free life for either 21 or 40 days. If you complain about something, you switch the band to your opposite wrist, and you start over again at day 1. The word “INSPIRED” is to suggest that you think of something inspiring to say rather than complain.
I was all for this. I wanted to fast from negative thinking, and this program would give me the opportunity to work on it. Well, I wound up changing the band twice the next day. What happened? I got in the car, that’s all. Both the commute from home to work and from work to home was all it took. The complaining manifested itself in such a small way; each time, I commented on how slow the person in front of me was driving. I like to drive, as it makes me feel a sense of freedom (the idea of going anywhere I want, when I want), so this came as a surprise to me.
At my “day job,” some of my co-workers would try to get me to complain when they found out what I was working on within myself. Sabotage? Can you believe it? My tag line, as a result, would be, “It’s not a complaint, it’s an observation.” Who was I trying to kid? Myself, of course.
I have managed, since I began this, to keep myself from complaining at least 3-4 straight days before having to start over.
And then there was today. All I found myself doing at my “day job” today was complaining. I wound up going back and forth with the wristband so often that I don’t even know which wrist it’s supposed to be on at this point!
I contemplated giving up on trying to live the complaint-free life. While I am trying not to be rooted in negativity or negative thinking, I find that complaining is an intrinsic part of my nature. It’s just a part of who I am.
I remembered that I drew the 8 of Cups as one of the three cards in my daily reading today. One of the keywords associated with this card is “abandonment.” The card was also in the “spiritual” position of the spread. How fitting, it seems.
They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit, but I can’t even make it a week! So, I think it’s time to retire the wristband, and give up on trying to live the complaint-free life.
Until next time…
James
