Do not resist, do not complain, do not sweat over small stuff

When things go wrong, they go togher in tandom.

In the morning,  I  called the cursed bike & Coffee shop to get my bike serviced— rear brake bleed.  Bike shopped owner said that he can take it look at it, and the cost  was$35; but he was not 100% sure whether I can simply wait while he fixed my bike. I rided my bike at his cute shop in the afternoon.  Perhaps ntimated with the big e-bike, only after a glance, he immediately said he couldn’t do it.  “you could have told me if you couldn’t do it, so I didn’t have to make the trip,” I whined.  Air immediatey becomes thicker, “well, not too bad, it is  only a short ride from my home to the shop,” I said to myself and the shop owner who became somewhat apologic. Seeing that the saddle on my bike was slanted, he went inside the shop to fetch an allen drive and quickly fixed my slanted saddle–which I put on in a hurry before the trip “Thank you and have a nice day,” I said goodbye to the shop owner. Appreciating indeed softens  the awkwardness caused by complaints.  And, I myself felt better.

Geting home, sitting down, and logging on to my retirement mutufal fund account, “Oh, my god, they liquidated half of my retirement savings amid low markets by mistake even though I spoke with them so many times thatt I  would like just rolled over my investment portfolio from employer-sponsored account to individual account .”  I was fuming.  I dialled the 1-800 number. After put on hold for 30 minutes, I finally got to speak to a right person; I was still fuming.  Sabrina  (the person who answered my call) listened carefully. She might have a hard time understanding what I was reporting as I was still angry and my words were flying out of my mouth like bullets out of a gun, fast and piercing,  when explaining what happpened to my accounts.   While she was investigating and talking to personnals in other department, Sabrina was putting me on hold. After 40 minutes or so, I calmed down, and Sabrian got back to me, and said she found that the fund indeed should not have  been liquidated, she promised that she will get back to me within five business days.  Remarkably, Sabrina was calm all the time even when I was fuming.  I thanked her and apologized for my earlier fuming.

In the evening, having recently renewed my costco membership, it is time to spend money. I browsed at Costco.com.  I really do not need anything other than food, but what about the $40 coupon I get from Costco when signing up online.  It is tricky that this coupon will be honored only if I buy things on their .com and spend more than $250. That’s indeed tricky. Perhaps, I can look up their monitor; I have been looking for a better monitor; unfornately, the hot product is out of stock now.   Logging on to Costco.com, what? it asked me to renew my membership. Haven’t I just paid for it.   I realized I need to call in to get them close my old online account. This time I learned my lesson, I did not complain. I explained the situation to the representative. It got resolved.  My blood pressure didn’t rise.

Life is tedious.  Complaining will make tedious unpleasant and perhaps cost more time, energy, and money as well. Do not resist, do not complain. “Don’t sweat over small things” as some sages say perhaps is the best way to go. Because resistance will sap our energy so we will little engery left in our reservior to deal with  more important things. Resistance will also destroy our equanimity, lose our cool-headedness. Complaining will poison our daily interactions with other people, and our own day.

Whatever it is, take it with no resistance, life will become easier.