It had been a long, hard day full of both physical and mental work. I had a snack, took a hot shower and then crawled into my comfortable bed, pulled up my warm blankets, nestled my head into my pillows, and turned on the bedroom TV to watch the late night news.

As I lay there in my bed, I watched in horror the latest news from around the world where hundreds of people were killed by bombings, where thousands upon thousands of people sought refuge from political turmoil, and where thousands were attempting to sleep upon bare ground with pangs of hunger rumbling within.

It took only a matter of a few minutes watching the late news that made me realize how much I had to be grateful for. I just had a snack without having to beg for food, or search garbage bins, I had a hot shower without having to break into someone else’s house, or to travel hundreds of miles to use a communal open shower with cold water dripping from an inverted can, I had a warm comfortable bed of my own within a secure environment devoid of threatening people or bombs or potential assassination.

How many times have we all, in a civilized society, a democratic society, a society of abundant opportunity, laid out our cries of misfortune, or related countless problems? What problems. We don’t have problems at all. All we have is a complaining spirit within a land of abundance where our “poor me” attitudes stem only from our lack of action, our mind set that wants more for nothing. How small we are when we sit for just one minute and look around us to reveal everything millions of others would gladly exchange with us in a heartbeat.

Shame and double shame on all of us who bask in our own selfishness, our lack of gratitude for what we already have, and for what we could have if we got off our comfortable complaining butts and made a minor effort to be more than we are today.

Gratitude for what we have, for our stability, for our opportunities that are there for the taking with only a little effort is all too often buried within our own small minds. Before you ever complain again, put yourself in the shoes of millions of others who would give their heart and sole just to have a secure, warm, and comfortable bed upon which to lay their heads for one night of peaceful sleep.

You have a bed, you have warmth, you have blankets, you have every opportunity that you could imagine available to you. So, what’s your complaint?

Catherine Pulsifer is one of the editors of Stress Relief. Visit http://www.stresslesscountry.com for more stories, thoughts, and inspirational quotes on stress and stress relief.