Dirt in My Pants

I don't remember the last time I had dirt in my pants. It took me a while to figure out how I got it in there today. Then I remembered. I carried a dug-up tree to the other end of the yard. Normally I do the "bad" thing and just grab them by the trunk and don't support the root ball at all. Today I decided to do the right thing (yay me!) and held it by the root ball. Apparently I held it close enough to my belly that it pressed up against me and dirt worked its way in between my t-shirt and the waist of my pants. Then it stayed there through relocating some irises and attempting to move the bigger trees. I found it when I dumped the pants dirt all over the floor as I changed my clothes.

About the tree moving attempt: The smaller of the bigger trees got its taproot snapped. The larger of the bigger trees is going to have to be cut. Its root ball is goign to be too big to dig up easily and it's near the gas and water lines going to my house. I'd rather just cut the tree and let it go. It's not going to be worth risking a utility "oops" or worth paying someone to come out and do it "professionally", which wouldn't necessarily eliminate the risk of the "oops" either. So I'll let it go for now and cut it down in the spring. I discovered it's got some pokey, thorny bits today too, which would have made digging it up "interesting".

Turning Over New Leaves of a Different Sort....
Here's a more eloquent explanation of my recently adopted attitude about whining. These are actually the straight-forward and wise words of "http://www.larrywinget.com/">Larry Winget from his book "Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life":
Whining prolongs the problem. As long as you continue to whine about what is wrong with your life there will be no room for anything good to come into your life. That is just the way life works. You cannot focus on the solution when you are whining about the problem. You cannot do two things at once. Pick the one that moves you closer to where you want to be in life. Does whining bring you closer to success? Does whining bring you closer to a better relationship? Does whining really make you happy? Does it make you smile? Seriously, have you ever seen anyone smile and whine at the same time?

The answer obviously is that whining does not move you closer to where you want to be. Whining will only make your problem stick around longer. It will not make you smile. And trust me on this one, it will not endear you to others.
It's basically what I've already figured out, but said more clearly. It also helps to get the confirmation from someone else that I'm on the right track. Now I just need to remember it more often and not let the urge to whine/complain/bitch win when I get frustrated or aggravated. And when I forget, I need to just quit it and move on. The hard part will be stopping the slowly growing grumpiness when my frustration builds up.

Lately, I've been slipping on my "no complaints" behavior. Various frustrations and aggravations have been getting to me. Of course, I also can't find my anti-complaining bracelet. Not that that is any excuse, but the visual reminder helps. (For more on the anti-complaining bracelets and a separate anti-complaining program, see A Complaint Free World. Technically, my bracelet was just a random jelly bracelet that was a freebie at a conference, but it worked just the same.) What helps with the grumpiness/frustration is to visualize carrying a sphere of zen calmness and serenity around me. Then life becomes a game where my goal is to not let the world pop my bubble. Call it immature, if you'd like, but I'm always more successful at things that I can turn into a "game" and it seems to take the pressure off about failing, since everybody knows you can't always win the game. I never bother to keep score either. I just keep playing.

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