Over the past several days, I have noticed a kind of annoyance creeping into my daily life. I find myself making nasty comments during commercials, yelling at politicians on the news, shaking my head and mumbling smart-ass comments while listening to talk show hosts seriously interviewing twerts about their tweets. I even felt myself engaging in some passive-aggressive behavior at my local gym when the lady who checks me in began to instruct me on how to hold my ID card so she could scan from her preferred seated position.
The commercial for hiring contractors, plumbers and other craftspeople with the guy who claims since he is now a father he no longer wants to spend his Saturdays fixing a toilet annoys me to no end. Fatherhood is not a valid reason to engage in a job that should always be handled by a professional. Why would you ever attempt this if you are not schooled in the skills needed? Just call the plumber, for heavens sake!
The young couple who bought a time share in Maui after their honeymoon who went there "...all the time!" for two years until they had a child. These poor folks could not handle juggling an infant and a vacation at the same time. Can they walk and chew gum? One would think a vacation is something they all needed. I can recall packing up three children, one of whom was in a stroller, and driving to Florida, picking up Grandma and gong to Disney World for a week. It is called organization. Get organized!
Yesterday I caught the tail end of one of those court TV shows where disputing parties can go and get a very public sort of justice. A tall, slim elegantly dressed young twenty-something in stiletto heels and a pencil skirt was suing a rather rag-tag street hustler for selling her a knock off designer bag at the outrageous price of $1,200! Seems that cost of that bag, as outrageous as I thought it to be, was really a bargain-basement price. She insisted that it was really a phony that he passed off onto her as real. She was incensed that her friends would know she fell for a fake. She needed them to know she only bought the best. To prove her point she produced two of her wide collection of bags by the same designer so Judge Judy could compare and contrast the qualities of genuine and fake handbags. Why anyone would need a $1,200+ handbag is beyond me, but to own three of them is simply beyond my power of understanding. I can hear my Mother's voice repeating over and over, " If it seems too good to be true; it is." Simple advice, rings true every time. I guess pouty-girl's Mama didn't tell her that one.
I have to admit, I find that I am becoming more and more difficult to live with under this cloud of grumpiness. Some how it must be shaken off!
In order to deal with this creeping feeling of grumpy, I have turned to a Lenten discipline that I am sharing with a group. Using the materials from the Society of St John the Evangelist, "Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John", I spend some time every day listening to a brief video, reading pieces from scripture, and meditating on the words written so very long ago. The word that is sticking with me is "abide". In its modern translation, "abide" means "to accept , put up with or endure". The archaic meaning is probably the one most close in meaning to its Biblical use, " to reside or live with". So I have decided to "Abide" a bit with my cloak of grumpiness, and see how long I can really live with it.
I suspect as the dark days of Lent recede and I can begin to see the Easter Dawn over the hill, I will soon emerge from these forty days and shed this darkness of the soul, and begin to think about moving into the light. At that point I hope to rejoice with the Dad who wants to spend more time with his child; I hope to nod with great approval for the couple who are saving money and spending more quality time with their son.
But...... I can't promise I will even begin to understand the multi-purse girl. Ever.
https://www.last.fm/music/Thelonious+Monk/_/Abide+With+Me
No comments:
Post a Comment