You cannot complain about life unless you first HAVE life.
PAUSE.
Problems may not feel like gifts when they arrive…
but many of them come carrying instructions, strength, perspective, and growth.
In order to complain…
criticize…
feel disappointed…
refuse to participate…
or decide that life is giving us a hard time…
something very important has to happen FIRST.
You have to be ALIVE.
LOL.
That sounds almost too simple.
But think about it.
Pain belongs to life.
Problems belong to life.
Disappointment belongs to life.
And so do:
joy,
love,
food,
sunsets,
friendship,
laughter,
opportunity,
success,
and another morning.
It all comes in the same package.
LIFE.
I sometimes watch nature.
Animals get hunted.
Insects get stepped on.
Plants fight for sunlight, water, and room to grow.
I am reasonably certain none of them filed a complaint with management.
LOL.
They adjust.
They survive.
They keep going.
IT’S THE ONLY LIFE I HAVE
Everything in nature protects the life it has.
Animals.
Plants.
Insects.
Trees.
Everything reaches toward survival.
Why?
Because life is worth continuing.
A plant bends toward the sun.
An animal runs from danger.
A tree sends roots deeper.
Nature seems to understand something we sometimes forget:
THIS IS THE LIFE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
Use it.
Protect it.
Participate in it.
How much more should human beings appreciate that?
We have thought.
Choice.
Memory.
Imagination.
Creativity.
Relationships.
Conscience.
Skills.
And the ability to change direction.
That is quite a package.
WE ALL COMPLAIN
Now let me get something straight.
I complain too.
LOL.
Everybody does.
Something goes wrong.
Something costs too much.
Somebody irritates us.
Traffic.
Bills.
Weather.
Technology.
People.
Our own body decides to remind us that it has opinions too.
There is always something.
But every once in a while, I take a TIME-OUT.
PAUSE.
What exactly am I complaining about?
A problem inside a life that I still have?
That little perspective changes things.
The problem may still need solving.
But suddenly the problem is smaller than LIFE itself.
THE BIG STUFF…OUCH!
Now some problems are not little.
Some hit hard.
Loss.
Financial trouble.
Broken relationships.
Failure.
Major changes.
Fear.
Those moments can arrive like somebody kicked the front door in.
OUCH.
Now what?
That is when your inner SKILLS BANK gets called into service.
Everything you have learned.
Everything you have survived.
Everything inside you that knows how to adapt.
You go inward.
Listen.
Think.
Ask for help when needed.
Take what you have…
and put it against what has arrived.
Problem meet person.
LOL.
Let us see who is still standing when this is over.
Big problems require work.
Faith.
Patience.
Will.
Sometimes humility.
Sometimes time.
But human beings have an amazing ability to adjust and continue.
The problem may be large.
That does not automatically mean YOU are small.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
Do not introduce yourself to a problem by announcing how weak you are.
LOL.
Let the problem find out who it bumped into.
And another:
A bad day is still a DAY.
There is something valuable hiding in that sentence.
SIMPLE FOODS AND SIMPLE THOUGHTS
I had rice and beans one day.
Simple.
I ate.
I was satisfied.
That was enough.
Another time I had an avocado.
What a magnificent little package that is.
LOL.
No advertising campaign required.
Open it.
Eat it.
Life provided lunch.
Another time, tofu.
Protein.
Nourishment.
Done.
There is something peaceful about remembering how little is actually required for a human being to experience satisfaction.
Food.
Water.
Shelter.
Rest.
Conversation.
Something interesting to look at.
Somebody to laugh with.
A little purpose.
A little peace.
We complicate the menu.
The basics are surprisingly simple.
THE SIMPLE THINGS DO NOT DISAPPOINT
Look around.
Coffee.
A breeze.
A chair.
Good conversation.
Trees.
Music.
A meal.
A walk.
A comfortable bed.
Someone saying:
“Good morning.”
These things rarely advertise themselves as luxury.
But remove enough of them…
and suddenly you discover their value.
That is why gratitude works.
It returns value to what became ordinary.
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
Then we have opportunity.
And here in America, there is a powerful idea built deeply into the culture:
You can pursue MORE.
More education.
More business.
More property.
More travel.
More comfort.
More experience.
More achievement.
Fine.
Go after it.
Build.
Grow.
Prosper.
Improve.
But remember something:
UPGRADING IS OPTIONAL.
Living is happening already.
You do not need the bigger house before you can appreciate the room you are sitting in.
You do not need the better car before you can enjoy today’s drive.
You do not need the next promotion before appreciating today’s work.
You can pursue more without treating NOW like it is worthless.
That distinction changes everything.
SIP IT — DON’T GULP IT
This is one of the problems with constant pursuit.
We gulp.
Next goal.
Next purchase.
Next destination.
Next achievement.
Next.
Next.
Next.
LOL.
Slow down.
Sip the experience.
Taste it.
Notice it.
Let something actually land before chasing the next thing.
A life gulped too quickly may look full…
and still feel empty.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Problems are part of the living experience, not evidence that life itself has failed.
Gratitude does not require pretending difficulty is pleasant.
It means holding difficulty inside the larger perspective that life also contains opportunity, nourishment, relationships, learning, resilience, and moments worth appreciating.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with THE SIMPLICITY OF IT ALL.
That Pearl reminds us to PAUSE and enjoy the journey.
This one adds:
Do not let the problems along the journey convince you that the journey itself is bad.
And it connects with SKILLS BANK.
Problems often reveal abilities we did not know we possessed until life demanded them.
Sometimes the problem is the test…
and your hidden strength is the answer.
FINAL THOUGHT
Maybe the problems of life are not GOOD because they feel good.
They may be good because they force something out of us.
Strength.
Patience.
Wisdom.
Perspective.
Faith.
Humility.
Resourcefulness.
They make us adjust.
They remind us we care.
They make us participate.
And occasionally…
they make us appreciate rice and beans like a five-star meal.
LOL.
Whatever you pursue…
whatever you solve…
whatever you build…
remember to be grateful that you are HERE to experience it.
Sip life.
Do not gulp it.
The problems will come and go.
Life itself is the gift underneath them all.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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