Why Me....
I have a great deal of admiration for the writer Aaron Sorkin (The American President, West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) and this line popped from one of his shows.
My mother got cancer when I was fifteen, and I asked, Mom, how come you never say ‘why me’ and she said, “I never asked God ‘why me’ when the good things happen, so I shouldn’t ask now.”
Fiction, yet such a great line, such a better lesson. Not a lesson of ‘don’t complain’ but one of remembrance. Remembering to be thankful for the things we have, and for what we get (or are given). Too often we look upon these things as ‘earned’, or sometimes ‘owed.’ We complain when the car has a major repair, but how often are we thankful it did not fall apart when we really needed it. We complain of taxes, of jobs and unemployment, of drivers and traffic, inflation and investments, of crime and legislation, businesses and the people that run them, politics and lack of accountability, and [fill in the blank], and did I mention taxes? We complain, forgetting to be thankful.
Every day I make coffee for my wife, excluding the times I travel. I explain to her I make coffee out of fear, telling her I do not dare to ‘not make coffee.’ In reality I make coffee for her because she likes coffee made for her in the morning. Every morning she tells me “thank you” for the coffee. I find it unusual, yet pleasing, that she tells me each morning. She knows that I will make coffee for her and she knows it will appear on the bathroom vanity while she is showering. I explain to her it is really the “coffee fairy” that delivers the coffee, yet every day she tells me “thank you”. Funny how subtly roles are reversed, for it is I who takes the “thank you” for granted, and not her receiving the coffee.
How often do we look upon good luck, good fortune, and good times, and forget to say “thank you?” Yet, how minor of difficulty must occur for us to complain? The next time you get someplace on time when you thought you would not, or you get extra money when you least expect it, or a problem does not materialize when you thought it would, take a moment and say thank you. Say it aloud to no one in particular, for you never know who is listening.
“I never asked God ‘why me’ when the good things happen, so I shouldn’t ask now.” Would be that I have such strength of character should I be faced with great difficulty.
My mother got cancer when I was fifteen, and I asked, Mom, how come you never say ‘why me’ and she said, “I never asked God ‘why me’ when the good things happen, so I shouldn’t ask now.”
Fiction, yet such a great line, such a better lesson. Not a lesson of ‘don’t complain’ but one of remembrance. Remembering to be thankful for the things we have, and for what we get (or are given). Too often we look upon these things as ‘earned’, or sometimes ‘owed.’ We complain when the car has a major repair, but how often are we thankful it did not fall apart when we really needed it. We complain of taxes, of jobs and unemployment, of drivers and traffic, inflation and investments, of crime and legislation, businesses and the people that run them, politics and lack of accountability, and [fill in the blank], and did I mention taxes? We complain, forgetting to be thankful.
Every day I make coffee for my wife, excluding the times I travel. I explain to her I make coffee out of fear, telling her I do not dare to ‘not make coffee.’ In reality I make coffee for her because she likes coffee made for her in the morning. Every morning she tells me “thank you” for the coffee. I find it unusual, yet pleasing, that she tells me each morning. She knows that I will make coffee for her and she knows it will appear on the bathroom vanity while she is showering. I explain to her it is really the “coffee fairy” that delivers the coffee, yet every day she tells me “thank you”. Funny how subtly roles are reversed, for it is I who takes the “thank you” for granted, and not her receiving the coffee.
How often do we look upon good luck, good fortune, and good times, and forget to say “thank you?” Yet, how minor of difficulty must occur for us to complain? The next time you get someplace on time when you thought you would not, or you get extra money when you least expect it, or a problem does not materialize when you thought it would, take a moment and say thank you. Say it aloud to no one in particular, for you never know who is listening.
“I never asked God ‘why me’ when the good things happen, so I shouldn’t ask now.” Would be that I have such strength of character should I be faced with great difficulty.
posted by G. Steven Nolte at 10:19 AM
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