Last Sunday morning, I grumbled. Yes, on my way to church.

See, I drive my car to church and go street parking. I would hunt for an empty space that is as near to the church as possible. Many times, I parked at a good spot: just a few meters away from the church entrance.

But that morning, for some reason, the street was full of parked cars! I wound up parking at the far end of that street. As I trudged to church, I was fussing why there were so many parked cars, why I didn’t wake up an hour earlier, or how tiresome this trek on foot was.

As I settled myself in the pew, I realized that it could have been worse. In an alternative reality:

·        I have no car
·        I have a car but can’t afford the gas prices
·        I can’t drive
·        I lost my eyesight
·        I lost my motor skills
·        I have a car but ran over someone
·        I crashed against another car

Grumbling gave way to gratitude.

The insight is that if we are fixated on an ideal state and see how reality is less than ideal, we will grumble. My ideal state is to park just in front of the church. My reality is that I had to plod what seemed like a kilometer (I exaggerate) to church. So I wept and gnashed my teeth (sort of).

But if we were to compare reality with a worse state, we will be grateful.

I don’t mean a guilt trip as in “Stop whining about your work! At least you have a job! A lot of people would kill to be in your place!”

Rather, it is perspective. Things could have been worse. But we’ve gotten better than we deserve.

Psychologists have observed the gold, silver, and bronze medalists in a contest. The silver medalist was miserable but the bronze medalist was elated. That’s because the silver medalist compared his status with the ideal state, that of the gold medalist, which of course he failed to grasp.

But the bronze medalist was not comparing himself with the silver medalist, let alone the gold medalist. He was comparing himself with the fourth placer, who got no medal at all. That was his “it could have been worse.” He could have returned home empty-handed. Thus, he was beaming with gratitude.

So the next time you’re tempted to grumble, think how your circumstances can be worse. Me, I have gone through two painful years of joblessness. That’s why I cherish every day at the office even though there will be stress and headaches. I certainly don’t want to go through those two years again. And I certainly don’t want that on my worst enemy.

So be thankful with what you have. It’s the grace of God. And in that pew, I began to worship.