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Complaining about the weather.
by Rabbi Brian 2017 – issue 31 of 40
The 77% Weekly
Nourishing Spiritual-Religious Hunger 40/52 weeks a year
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Do you complain about the weather?
A simple yes or no. I need binary answers.
Do you complain about the weather?
( ) Yes. I complain about the weather
( ) No. I do not complain about the weather.
Are you looking for this option?
( ) Some. I complain about the weather, but just a little bit, so it doesn’t really count.
That option doesn’t exist. Sorry. You have to pick either you complain or you don’t.
Leveling up
When I ask ‘Do you complain about the weather?’ I’m not asking just about the weather.
I am not asking if the particular discernible atmospheric conditions in your locale are pleasing. What I’m talking about is larger.
Do you complain about the things you can’t control?
( ) Yes.
( ) No.
It’s binary.
Yes or no?
Arn you going to conplain that the typography here is a little o88 and spellings grammer off?
(Or, is that complaint just in your mind so it doesn’t count?)
Do you hear yourself complaining about traffic?
About other things over which you have no control?
And if the answer is yes, I have a two-minute spiritual exercise for you.
Stop complaining. Period. Stop uttering strings of words that sound negative. Don’t tell us you are not happy with the weather or anything else outside of your control.
Think them, but don’t speak them. For five minutes.
Perhaps, just a perhaps, you are more critical than necessary?
So, shut your pie hole from complaints.
No complaints.
Try it.
Do not utter a complaint from now on.
For five minutes. And, longer if you can!
Rabbi Brian’s first set of rules and notes about not complaining:
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Neutral sentences, like, “I am sweaty” or “This humidity is something else,” are not complaints.
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Some people find it beneficial to frame this as a game – trying again and again to beat previous attempts.
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A good starting goal is two days without a complaint. (Email me for a supportive response when you have met this goal.)
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To not complain, you will have to monitor your language. You will have to listen for anything that sounds like a complaint.
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Complaints in your head are allowed. When you feel the cold bead of consolidated perspiration drip slowly down your skin, you think, “This place is too hot.” That’s ok. Our minds wire thoughts, memories, and words together.
Start now
Starting now. No complaints. Go for two days.
Rabbi Brian’s second set of rules and notes about not complaining:
- When/if you “fail,” no problem, just start up again. Treat yourself like you would a child learning to walk – knowing that there will many stumbles along the way.
- Ask God – if that feels right – for support. Breaking the complaining about the weather habit might be one of the harder vices to break – so, why not turn it over? (If you are curious about this, let me know, there are programs that can help.)
- Enjoy it! It can actually be fun to play this as a game. Not everyone’s personality can immediately adopt this attitude and some find it easier to “gamify” when doing it with a friend. So, you might find an accountabilibuddy – someone to whom you say, “Want to try this challenge with me to see if we can go for two days without complaining?”
- Be cautious when preaching to others who are complaining about the weather that they oughtn’t. (Really I’d just advise not to tell people to not complain about the weather.) Instead, maybe you can forward this newsletter and ask them to take the challenge with you. (So, how am I doing that very thing? By virtue you have subscribed to my spiritual newsletter.)
- Email me if you want my support and encouragement. Hey, I’m here. I’m “your” rabbi after all. (But, also, be mindful, there are a lot of you out there.)
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With love,
Rabbi Brian
rabbi_brian@rotb.org
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