A wise supervisor once asked his worker to clean out a 4-foot pit in an automotive factory, which was filled with smelly industrial grease. When the worker hesitated, the supervisor jumped down into the pit up to his chest in grime and grease, and then he began bucketing the filthy sewage out.
Astonished, the worker tapped his supervisor on the shoulder after a few buckets and said, "Here, boss, let me finish this task up."
The moral of this story is that one should never ask someone to do something that she or he has done done before.
Complaining
Far too often we mere mortals complain much too much. My father, uneducated as far as school is concerned, once advised me to finish what I have been tasked to do before complaining about doing the task. I found out that once you complete a task that it is difficult at best to complain about it after the fact.
Another sage once quipped: Before you complain today, be grateful you have breath to complain with. Let that sink in. The individual has wisdom, whomever she or he is/was.
My Saturday morning
This morning my son awakened me at 2:50 a.m., and I could not get back to sleep. Rather than complain, and once he got back to sleep, I went about completing some chores that needed to be taken care of.
Well, wouldn't you know it, as I began these chores, the toilet clogged! Meanwhile, our cat was howling to beat the band. Again, rather than complain, I took the tasks at hand as a challenge of my patience.
The toilet is still clogged as I write. I gave it the Drano treatment and nothing. Now I have some boric acid in the bowl. Either that will fix it or the darn thing will explode. Que sera sera.
And the laundry I did yesterday and put under the garage roof? Soaked! The wind and rain came in at an unusual direction, and my clothes look like they went through a 3-day Signal 3 typhoon.
But I'm still smiling, laughing and thinking positive.
The cat has chilled like a Pepsi in the freezer, my son is off in Never-never Land, and I am writing. More obstacles will come my way today, and to your day as well.
Dealing with frustration
We can whine, curse and complain about our situations and tasks before us, but all these things will do is make the situation at hand much worse. When we do these things, our focus is misguided. We have a tendency to invite ourself to a pity party and cry to the heavens, "Why me?"
Well, why not you and me?
Are we so special that we must live life without daily problems? These problems and unwanted tasks are called activities of daily living. Everyone experiences them! But with the right mindset, we can overcome the insecure act of complaining.
Knowledge and wisdom
It helps me to know that other people have it far worse than I do today. Some are dying, some are sick, some are going hungry. Me? I have a stubborn, bubbling toilet and some wet clothes that need a rewash. Life isn't so bad after all.
Any wisdom I have comes from reading the Bible and applying it to my life. The Apostle Paul wrote this to the believers in Philippi: "Do all things without complaining and disputing" (Philippians 2:14, NKJV).
I also remember that happiness is fleeting. Obviously not everything makes us happy. It is joy that we should seek. Joy comes from the Lord.
Paul reminds us again: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
Well, now the washer hose is clogged with leaves and the toilet remains clogged as well. Back to tasking!
Today you can make it through those unexpected chores and untimely tasks that arise. I encourage you to put on the right mindset, since I would never ask you to do something that I haven't done. Have a blessed day and know you are not alone in your daily activities of living.
Every time I am having a bad day, I always encourage myself to be still, it's just a bad day. There's always a rainbow after heavy rains.