Forgive me when I whine

Years ago my friend Cynthia Galindo sent me a poem. I looked at it and decided right there and then that a valuable piece of treasure had been given me. I asked her where she got it and she said a friend who got it from a friend who received it from another friend sent her an e-mail, and so I couldn’t even trace who the original sender was. Whoever that friend was, well, thanks!

I would like to share it with you.

Lord, forgive me when I whine

Today, on a bus, I saw a lovely girl with golden hair.

I envied her. She seemed so gay. And wished I were as fair.

When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle;

She had one leg and wore a crutch; But as she passed...a smile!

Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two legs. The world is mine!

I stopped to buy some candy.  The lad who sold it had such charm.

I talked with him. He seemed so glad. If I were late it would do no harm.

And as I left, he said to me, “I thank you.” You have been so kind.

It’s nice to talk with folks like you. “You see”, he said, “I’m blind.”

Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes. The world is mine.

Later, while walking down the sweet, I saw a child with eyes of blue.

He stood and watched the others play. He did not know what to do,

I stopped a moment, then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”

He looked ahead without a word and then I knew he could not hear.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I have two ears. The world is mine.

With feet to take me where I’d go, with eyes to see the sunset’s glow,

With ears to hear what I would know,

Oh God forgive me when I whine. I’m blessed indeed. The world is mine!

“Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor,” says Benjamin Franklin. Very true, isn’t it? The poem reminds me of the saying that goes this way: I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet.

The best way to deal with all these is to simply remember that no person can ever be happy until she has learned to enjoy what she has and not to worry over what he does not have.

How do you describe a contented man?

It is said that a contented man is one who enjoys the scenery along the detours. Life offers a lot of detours. There will always be challenges and injustice. Rather than whining, simply learn from each episode and enjoy the scenery.

One last thought: it would be best for us to be content with what we have, but never to be content with what we are or what we can be.

In the New Testament, Paul says, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.” And that would be a very good benchmark.

(Francis teams up with renowned speaker and author Krish Dhanam on May 15 in a whole day seminar entitled Achieving Peak Performance at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further details contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call (632) 6310912.