Bitching, abridged

So, Hi! Would anyone like to go to my 3.5-hour "lessons learned" meeting for me?

Or maybe the other meeting I have in the middle of the 3.5 hour meeting?

Or maybe the 30-minute meeting I have this afternoon to talk about something I think I forgot I was supposed to do?

Anyone?

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I was going to complain about my job again (it's my damned blog and I can TOO whine. Again!), but then I thought:

"Shit, man. I could be in Myanmar, or Schezuan China right now. I could be buried under rubble, swept away by wind, crushed under the weight of rampaging boulders or torrential floods. I could be starving in a gutter someplace, sleeping under a tarp on the side of a highway, begging for help for my injured children. I could be wondering if my family is still alive in the pile of debris that used to be my home, or if somewhere an aid agency has discovered the bodies of my relatives. I could be in so much worse shape right now than sitting in a cushy office chair with too many meetings, a little too much work to do, a yen to be outdoors, and a cup of hot coffee near me to bring me through the TRAUMA of yet another day at the office."

And so I told myself to shut the fuck up already. 99% of the world's population would gladly trade their troubles for mine. If I bitch and moan about my fat ass, my need for outdoor time, my stress at having to live up to the expectations of a busy job and home life while being afforded the chance to live a life of such extraordinary ease that despots and pashas and kings of long ago would have turned green with envy, then my priorities are suffering a serious case of the kinks and I should be sorely ashamed of myself.

My life is full of gifts. I am rich with them, embarrassingly so. Yeah - I have debt and bills and stress and obligations aplenty, but I'm not starving/dying/hurt/lost/hopeless. Not by a long shot.

So, no complaining. Not today. Today I'll be glad for what I have, what I'm working for, what I've been given. It's the very least I can do when the options could be so much worse.

That is all. I'll step out of the pulpit now and go to the next meeting with a smile on my face. Y'all have a great day now, and don't forget to count yer daggone blessings.