Quit Yer Bitchin'
I gotta tell you, and trust me, the irony of this is not lost on me, but I hate it when people complain about how awful they have it when they don't have any idea how good they DO have it. I mean, until the day comes that you utter the words "I'm sorry, I have to cancel my appointment tomorrow because I'm having a brain scan done," then you don't get to complain.
I work at a cancer rehab clinic and lately we've been treating some really sick people. People who are so ill and going through so much that I don't know how they manage to make it through each day, let alone gather enough strength to keep working full-time, undergo chemotherapy and go so far as to match the hat that covers their bald head to the outfit they're wearing. I can't tell you how much I admire them and how very little they complain about what they're going through. Of all the people who have a right to claim they're going through what you might call a "personal crisis," most of them have really positive attitudes and are living their lives as fully as they can, cancer be damned.
Which is why I get so ticked off at people who are such drama queens and who bitch and moan about how hard they have it when frankly, they don't know what hard is. Most people lead charmed lives and don't even know it, so I'd like to say to them: Suck it up and deal with it! Get a little perspective on life and shut the fuck up about your petty little problems.
Mobius Band--"You Don't Know How it Feels (Tom Petty Cover)" mp3 off Empire of Love (buy)
The Alarm Clocks--"No Reason to Complain" mp3 off Yeah! (buy)
Moi Caprice--"Drama Queen" mp3 off The Art of Kissing Properly (buy)
If I ever get that sick (not that I'm pulling for that sort of thing), I
hope I have a badass like you in my corner!
james, i'd be in your corner no matter what! :) you say a very wise thing,
though, about how the more a person seems to have, the easier it is to ruin
their day. it is so true.
I'm with you 100%. I can't stand a whinger (to use the local parlance)
particularly when they have little to complain about. And the people that
do have something to complain about usually don't spend much time
complaining.
i love that word--whinger. hadn't heard it until i started reading a lot of
uk blogs. very descriptive!
never realised that was your day job Marcy.
jc--you know, it's really not depressing most of the time. most of the
patients we see leave us feeling much better than they did when they
started therapy, so it's very rewarding that way. there are a few who don't
get better and who do die, but even they are generally inspiring to us. to
tell you the truth, the more depressing patients are the ones we see who
don't have cancer and who don't do what they need to do to get themselves
better--they drive us crazy! thankfully there are a lot fewer of them. :)
In my experience, the people who are experiencing the worst physical
hardships are the ones who complain the least and have the most positive
attitude. I once had a student (college computer class) who was nearly
completely immobilized except for some ability to use her hands. She was
the sweetest lady and had the greatest outlook on life.
linda--so true, so true. i intend to keep that in mind when i get the urge
to rag about stuff. :) and thank you for the kind words about where i work.
i have to say that it's almost a privilege to work there, it's a really
special place to be a part of, and i'm not even one of the therapists. they
really are amazing.
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