I keep wondering (and this is only a philosophical question)... Do problems cause complaining? Or does complaining cause problems? Or both?

You ever know people who seem to whine and complain about everything? Their lives aren't perfect--heck, they might even have *real* issues to complain about--but they seem to dwell on the negative. They complain and resent their kids, spouse, house, pets, bills, job, co-workers, neighbors, position in life, etc, etc. It's like they live to complain.

But--here's the odd thing...I've noticed that for this sort of person their life never gets any better--no matter what new job or new house or new car they get. In fact, it seems like their life gets progressively worse. They file for bankruptcy. They get divorced. They loose friends. Their house becomes a pit or they loose it altogether. And on and on and on.

The reason I've been wondering about this is that it strikes close to home:

There have been times in my life where I have gotten myself into a downward spiraling hell because I have dwelled on the negative. I haven't counted my blessings. I haven't seen the positives, the beauty of life, the miracles or the thousands of helping hands. So... I've grumbled and complained--and guess what?--the circumstances all got worse. Much worse.

One time when I had reached a real lowpoint, out of sheer desperation, I began to take daily Gratitude Walks. This was a 20 minute spiritual fast from negativity. I would start at my front door and begin to mentally list all the things that I was grateful for. At first it seemed like a big stretch to think of anything--"I'm grateful for legs that walk. I'm grateful I got to eat this morning. I'm grateful I haven't killed myself yet."

Then, slowly, my gratitude muscle seemed to get stronger. "I'm grateful for where I live. I'm grateful for a husband who loves me. I'm grateful my mom lives close and helps me with my son. I'm grateful for the sunshine. I'm grateful for clouds. I'm grateful for purple flowers."

You know... when you stop and look around there are things from the silly and mundane to the wondrous and miraculous to be grateful for.

And you know what else--every single time I've forced myself away from the negative and began to feast on the positive, my life improved. My marriage improved. My relationships improved. My house became cleaner and more organized. Even my bank account improved.

Which leads me back to my original question... and I honestly don't have answers. It's just one of the many things I ponder.