By JACK GODBEY

Contributing columnist

I hear all types of statements that people make, and it seems that people are rarely satisfied with their current situation. It doesn’t matter if it’s their financial situation, the house they live in or even the weather. With summer coming on us quickly, it’s just a matter of time before I hear someone complain about how hot it is. They will dab the sweat on their forehead complaining about the heat and how they swear it has never been so hot in the history of humankind. I recall the same people complaining about how cold it was during the winter! The same principle applies to the rain. I hear people complain about a rainy day and swear that it has never been so bad since Noah’s Ark and when it’s not raining, complain about how dry it has been lately and how we need “A good rain”. We are a nation of complainers. There is nothing we can do about the heat, or the cold, or if it rains or not but somehow, we seem to think that if we complain enough, the weather in Kentucky will be magically transformed to that of a beautiful tropical island.

It seems that the weather is not the only thing that we are never satisfied about. Often times, we find ourselves guilty of not being satisfied with what we have and wanting more. We wish for curly hair instead of straight, we wish we had blue eyes instead of green. If only we had a body like that person, life would be great. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your life and have better things, sometimes, we do not actually do anything about our situation except complain about it. It seems that we always want what someone else has. We want to have our neighbor’s friends, drive our neighbor’s car or have children that are as well behaved as our neighbors kids are.

What we forget about sometimes is that while we are busy looking at our neighbors and wishing we had what they had, someone is looking at us wishing they had what we have. I am reminded of a story I heard as a child about the mouse that was always depressed because he was a mouse, and wished so hard that he was a cat that a wizard felt sorry for him and turned him into a cat, thinking it would make him happy. Shortly after, the mouse, who was now a cat, started to think that dogs had the perfect life, and wished with everything he had that he was a dog. If he could just be a dog, his life would be perfect. Once again, the wizard took pity on him and turned him into a dog. Before long, the mouse became unhappy again as a dog and thought tigers were the most beautiful animal. Oh, if I could only be a tiger, he would say, everything would be perfect then. He felt sorry for himself that he was just a lonely dog. If only he could be a tiger, life would be so grand. The wizard once again felt sorry for the dog and turned him into a tiger thinking that this would surely bring happiness. Sadly, the tiger found himself depressed once again, and the wizard seeing this turned him back into a mouse and told him “Nothing I do can help you because you never appreciated what you had. You are better off being what you were”.

Jack Godbey is a resident of Danville and is a published author and historian. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Physical Science.