On gratitude

I had to de-friend and block someone from Facebook yesterday because I was in the middle of a thing whereby I was ranting against Walmart and the people who shop there. This particular rant was sparked by a conversation with another friend and was part of a challenge that had been given to me by that same friend. It’s a long story, but suffice to say, there was a reason why I was saying the things I was saying on Facebook.

The person I ended up blocking chimed in with some kind of sad-sack bullshit about how my feelings about Walmart were making her feel bad about her life. I… just… no. Fuck that. Unless I am calling someone out by name, my opinion of something should not matter to anyone but me. If my dislike for something makes you feel bad about your life, you should maybe step back and re-evaluate what it is that you’re doing because something is not quite right.

Granted, this particular person has a history of such behavior, so I wasn’t surprised, but I was annoyed enough to de-friend and block her. Because you know what? Have some fucking gratitude, lady. I know her life is hard and at times is REALLY fucking hard, but that doesn’t make her special. Everyone has their shit to deal with. I know there are people who will rally around her and try to vilify me and I just don’t fucking care. Have some fucking gratitude. You have a house and a computer with an internet connection and food to eat and clothes to wear and that is miles above what some people have. Count your fucking blessings and shut the fuck up.

There are people who take three buses and then walk a mile to get to the food bank. There are folks using space heaters because they can’t pay their gas bill. There are people whose spouses are in the hospital following a freak accident. There are friends with critically ill children. There are people who are contemplating suicide because they can’t see any way out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves. BE GRATEFUL THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT YOU.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2013 was to be a less-terrible person. I occasionally fail at that (thishere blog post is evidence) but one of the ways I succeed is to look around me and express gratitude for all the things that I have. And then I try to give back as much as I can. I have given money and food and my time and my skills to various people all year long to the best of my ability. That’s all I can really do, since they haven’t invented personality transplants yet. So every time I find myself starting to whine about things I don’t have or can’t afford to do, I check it and look around and think “I have all of these things. It is enough. I am happy.”

“It could be worse” isn’t the *best* life philosophy to follow, I’m sure, but… it could be worse. So, even though we’ve still got about 7 weeks to go, I am stating my New Year’s Resolution for 2014: COMPLAIN LESS, AND BE GRATEFUL.