Most humans complain on a fairly regular basis, more than they are aware of. They complain about the weather, about the news, about other people, about their work, about the food that is served, about what they don’t have time for, about their bodies, about their past, and etcetera. A lot of time and mental energy is taken up with complaining.
Complaining is expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance with someone, something, a situation or a state of affairs. The source of complaining is judgment. Judgment stems from the ego and upholds the ego as a false sense of self, which means complaining is a primary mechanism for maintaining the ego.
Some types of complaining are unique to specific self-image characteristics. For example, if you like the self-perception of being better than others, you may complain about other people habitually. If you like the self-perception of being sophisticated, you may complain about the food in restaurants, which never quite meets your standards. Other types of complaining are more general. For example, most people complain about things like the weather, the news and the work they do.
Regardless of the type of complaining that goes on unnoticed in you, complaining is an ego preservation strategy. If awakening to the true Self is important to you, letting go of complaining could be important to you also.
The first step to letting go of complaining is to bring complaining into awareness. Bringing complaining into awareness is different than bringing it to judgment. Judgment is of the ego and supports the ego. Awareness is the true Self.
When you bring complaining to awareness, complaining is noticed, but not judged. In other words, you don’t condemn yourself for complaining when it’s noticed. Instead, you simply make note of it. You see that it is present, and you also notice that it is out of harmony with your purpose, which is to realize the true Self. Once you come into contact with your desire to know and abide as the true Self, you simply drop all interest in the present complaining. Just let it go, like you would let go of anything else that no longer interests you.
When you let go of complaining, there will be a vacuum; that is, there will be a space where the complaining was just a moment ago. That space is the true Self, so instead of filling the space with something else, simply linger in the space. Notice it. Examine it. Become familiar with what it feels like, even as a conversation continues.
As one becomes proficient with dropping complaining whenever it is noticed and moving into the space that is left in its absence, one begins to experience more peace in life. One may also experience more joy. Peace and joy come from recognition of the true Self. In other words, complaining used to block the presence of the true Self with a false self-image. When the complaining is dropped, the block is dropped, and the true Self naturally shines forth as unprovoked peace and happiness.
Each time you notice yourself complaining about anything, drop it out of a desire to experience your true Self. Just drop it, and let the vacuum that replaces it simply be. Don’t try to make anything happen. Don’t try to feel peace or happiness.
Dropping complaining every time you notice it
and staying with the absence
is all you do.
In the beginning, staying with the vacuum … the nothing that follows … may be uncomfortable or disorienting for you. Don’t worry about that. You are simply more accustomed to the false self than the true Self, so it feels out-of-the-ordinary for you. That’s okay. Just keep practicing letting go of complaining and staying with the emptiness that follows. If you keep practicing in this way, you will become more accustomed to the space, and as you do, ease will naturally arise in that space. Wherever complaining used to be, ease will be. That ease … that peace … that unprovoked contentment is the true Self, and it is no longer blocked by complaining.
