Broken Things
A truth that we have all come to accept is that there is simply too many things to complain about. Your boss is giving you a hard time. You feel under-compensated. You feel overworked. It is pissing down with rain. You hate getting out of bed. You have to pay tax. You have to pay parking tickets. There are floods, war, poverty and the higher powers which govern our states can never seem to get it right. All of these things gives us serious cause for complaining, moaning, and a general feeling of helplessness in the world. When we complain about the things out of us it relieves us of some responsibility for our own emotions and it makes us feel good. It’s not my fault I feel like this, it’s the 100 other things outside myself that is fucked up, and I am justified in my brooding.
This line of thinking is well-worn since the dawn of our consciousness. Back when our sights were set firmly on survival, hunting and foraging was never reliable, and it was a constant battle with nature to provide for the small bands we operated in — a worthy cause for complaint. Since then we have put nature in a headlock and solidified ourselves as the controlling species of this planet, developing agriculture, healthcare, warm homes and the internet all for the purpose of increasing the well-being and organisation of society— yet the level of complaining has likely increased compared to our foraging ancestors.
Our quality of life has grown exponentially, even since the turn of the Millenia but the complaining hasn’t stopped — and it won’t ever stop. It follows that more things doesn’t necessarily reduce the appetite for complaining. I’d even go far as to say that better circumstances don’t either. Life is hardly ideal, but we wish and will for things to be different, for people to be nicer, for the world to un-fuck itself yet what good does this do? More (and more ideal) things doesn’t stop your complaining.
How should we respond then?
There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will — Epictetus
The source of our dissatisfaction — and by extension, our complaining — is not associated with our lack of ideal things, it is our opinion of our lack of ideal things. The more we wish for things to be different, the more dissatisfied we become. Fortunately, it is within our power to deem the conditions and circumstances that life challenges us with as something that we can endure. What makes it so unbearable that we must complain? Have we utilised all the tools with which we might be able to set it right? Everything external of our decisions and actions reflects only that which is out of our control. To spend our time wishing for the facilities to create the perfect circumstances or the right moment is time wasted. The sooner you are able to accept the hand that is dealt, the sooner you can focus on right action.
Don’t be overheard complaining..not even by yourself — Marcus Aurelius
Just Something To Consider.
🔗 Sources
Aurelius, M. Meditations.
Epictetus. Discourses.
Holiday, R. A Stoic Response to Complaining. https://dailystoic.com/a-stoic-response-to-complaining/