New Reminders: Are You an Angry Raisin?
by Ardith Hoff
Elaine Steinbeck (1914-2003) visited a Tokyo bookstore to see if they had her husband John’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Grapes of Wrath. The Japanese clerk found a copy but called it The Angry Raisins. Reader’s Digest, June 1990, p.106. The book was written in the 1930s, a time of hardship for many across the United States. Not only was the Great Depression making it difficult for families to eat every day, but the Dust Bowl swept through the plains states making it nearly impossible to farm the land on which they relied. The moral of The Grapes of Wrath is that, in the end, people need to band together to help each other out. Only by working together can individuals hope to survive systems and events that will hurt them. Yet, so many of us are so wrapped up in our own grievances, that it seems almost impossible to work with others effectively for the good of all.
There are so many negative messages out there today, on TV and social media, that we start to believe that we too have good reasons to be angry. Research suggests that the average person complains between 15 and 30 times per day. An article addressing chronic complainers notes that their end goal is generally attention not resolution and that’s why they keep talking about it. The best strategy is to “change their focus”. Simply saying, “I hear your frustration.” should give you credibility to switch subjects to something more positive. Reader’s Digest, January 2021, p.23. More often than not, we are tempted instead to weigh in with our own areas of dissatisfaction. We all need to shift how we approach life. We need to remind ourselves to, “Stop obsessing about how stressed we are and start stressing how blessed we are!"
When we switch our attention to our blessings rather than dwelling on the things that cause us stress, we suddenly realize that we actually have many reasons for gratitude and few reasons for resentment. The petty injustices we constantly complain about suddenly become dwarfed by comparison to all the good things in our lives. Most of us have everything we need and even a few luxuries we take for granted. As it says in 2nd Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Becoming involved in doing good with and for others gives us purpose and provides satisfaction and contentment. That leaves little room for self-pity.