Day 103

Day 103: Real Time
Day 12: 21 Day Complaint Free Journey


Remember Pollyanna? She was a character created by Eleanor Porter in 1913, whose outlook was perennially optimistic. The mere name today conjures up an image of someone who is upbeat about whatever is going on around them, the billboard caricature of a naïve cheerleader.

And for many of us right now, life does not offer much to cheer about. The economy has brought millions of families to their knees and out of their homes. Food banks report seeing folks in line who once kept the shelves stocked for “poor” families. Pollyanna seems to have taken a vacation.

Will Bowen pastors a large church and travels the world advocating the concept of the complaint-free world. Cynics among us might way, “Easy for him to say,” as they superimpose a portrait of pretty Polly over Will’s face.

As I’ve chronicled my effort to become complaintless, I have been sensitive to this situation. Pollyanna has never lived in my house, that’s for sure, even though I consider myself a generally positive person. My life has been one of hard work and individual discipline and effort, often in the face of formidable obstacles. Without knowing much about him, I would imagine Will Bowen has faced his own demons. As have you, I’m sure.

How is it possible, then, to aspire to a goal like this one, now in its 103rd day for me? Is Pollyanna taunting me, the result only to make me look foolish and out of touch to the rest of you?

I have come to understand that if we view our lives from a prism of the world outside ourselves, we will never be happy. We will certainly never be enough, especially immersed in a consumer-driven society like ours.

But the peace that is created internally will not easily be overwhelmed by what is happening outside of ourselves. It doesn’t matter how bad things get, I am the one who frames my life and its events. It is when I am tempted to blame everyone else for my problems that my complaining begins. It’s THEIR fault I am [angry, underemployed, unhappy, out of work, standing in this line, listening to uninformed people, etc]. One could spend an entire lifetime just filling in those blanks every day, all day. And many people do.

It is still dark as I write these words, dawn over an hour away. A gentle rain is tapping on the canopy over my head, and a frog is serenading me from a still hidden corner of my garden. I built a small fire in the potbelly stove as the day prepares to unfold. It is enough for me. There is nothing to complain about, whether Pollyanna shows up to sit a while or not.

Day 12.