http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/03/scienceshot-translating-a-dogs-g.html

I made a decision sometime this past year.  No complaining.  No complaining even about complaining.

This decision came on the heels of my decision not to watch the news, and for the most part unplugging from unpleasant media.  No more excursions through the interstices of other peoples bodies on CSI.  No more luxuriating in a good kvetch.

I thought of writing about it:

1. The Kvetcher’s Handbook
2. Kverching A-Z
3. Kvetching for Beginners
4. Chicken Soup for Kvetchers
5. A Rough Guide to Kvetching

There is something about the old habit of the whine that is hard to shake.  I would like to complain about a number of things:  fracking, horse slaughter, child trafficking.  I know that when the election heats up there will be a lot of complaining.

But I want to feel good, and complaining feels like it empties me out – darkens me at the cellular level.  So I don’t (as best I can).  When my friends start to complain, I find myself suddenly late for an appointment.  When I feel the pull of Whineland, I take myself somewhere else.  Look at the view, change my orientation, pet a cat.  Make a cup of dong ding.

How do you cope?