Is a blog that complains about whining actually whining? I hope not but let the reader judge. Everyone whines at one time or another it’s human nature. It starts when we are very young; four year olds usually have it down to a science. But the sort of whining I’m talking about is whining that has become so prevalent today. Have we really become that spoiled?
It is certainly an age of entitlement if you believe what you see in the media or if you just listen carefully to what is going on around you. There are so many people playing the blame game and refusing to take any responsibility to the bumps and hardships in their lives. The words need and want seem to have become synonymous. There seems to be great difficulty in understanding that wanting something does not necessarily mean that you truly need it.
I have found myself totally bemused observing people complaining about being broke spending with abandon. I recall a discussion with someone who was facing foreclosure on a home that they could not afford bemoaning the fact that the lender should have known that they didn’t make as much money as they said on the application. “It’s not fair” was the whine, the ubiquitous they should have stopped her from not being truthful, should have answered the questions she didn’t ask because she wanted what she wanted when she wanted it.
Watch any reality show and you will see contestants accusing people of “bullying” them while they are doing the same thing to someone else. Playing the victim/villain is the starring role. It demeans real victims of bullying; it trivializes a very serious problem.
I have observed people just starting out on a job being totally indignant that their beginning salary would not allow them to buy the same kind of house, or car that their parents had worked years to acquire. The whine is why do I have to wait? Anticipation and compromise have become archaic concepts.
Instant communication has heightened the desire for instant gratification in all areas. I see it, I want it – therefore I NEED it now is the mantra. It’s probably good for the economy in the short run, but we are still reeling from the fall out from the excesses of Wall Street and the housing debacles. Much of that brought on by the afore mentioned need for instant gratification.
I know it is difficult to not be seduced by the temptations we see everywhere. It is hard not to give in when there is so much pressure to have the latest styles, the newest car or computer. When we are bombarded by images of the rich and famous enjoying lives that seem out of our reach it is difficult not to resort to retail therapy, to imagine that material things will increase our self-esteem, make us happier if only for a moment.
What I Really Need
Tulips and daffodils in spring
Golden leaves in the autumn
Music floating through the air
While I read a good book
A walk through the park
A tour of a museum
This what I really need
The freedom to dream
And be who I want to be
The courage to face
Challenges and prevail
To choose my future
Not let it choose me
This is what I really need
The love and support
Of my family and friends
Sharing laughter and tears
The memories of loved ones
Who are no longer here
But still live in my heart
This is what I really need
musingsfrommelody 