Have you ever worked with someone, gone to school with someone, maybe even lived with someone who really annoyed you?

NO????????? Ok Mother Theresa, I guess this post is for the rest of us ….

Sure you have, and so have I. There’s always one. Someone who comes in late and leaves early, takes an extra long lunch and spends the remaining time doing as little as possible. Maybe they are like the office helicopter, they like to hover, which only makes you want to swat at them with a ruler or shoot elastic bands at them when they aren’t watching. Perhaps they are the office socialite, who comes in every day with tales from the dark side to share whether or not you really care to hear. They grumble, they mumble, they can turn anything on its head. Or they might be that person that is always there to gobble up the yummy snack(s) brought in by someone or other, but never, ever, EVER, offer anything themselves. (Feeling left out? Go ahead…insert your own pet peeve here …)

Yes, every office has one, sometimes two, and I know, for my part, I do a lot of surreptitious eye rolling, but my mother always told me, “If you can’t say something nice…(bang your head against the wall until you get a nice buzz?) say nothing at all. So, being the good girl, (no, this is not the chance for YOU to roll your eyes!) I don’t. That’s not to say I don’t go home at the end of the day and mutter uselessly to my flat mate; still, I am ceaselessly amazed at how one human being (so called) can be so cynical, depressing, and, on the whole, miserable to be around.

Ok, true, they may be dealing with something I can’t even imagine, or care to imagine. They may have a medical condition that causes them to be perpetually potty-mouthed, or they may have never been truly happy a day in their lives, even if they wanted to be, but they still annoy, irritate, and befuddle ( there’s a word!) So I try all the typical and sometimes atypical tricks to try to lift them out of their melancholy: I listen to their inane prattling even when I’m busy doing other things (I know…that sounds oddly familiar doesn’t it?), I try to gentle reassure or encourage them, I even might go so far as to bring them a Gratitude Journal and explain how writing down just one or two things a day that they are thankful for might go a long way in helping them realize that they are truly blessed, (which is a prime opportunity for THEM to roll their eyes at ME, by the way) Or I ply them with one of my personal favourites: Hemp Hogs.

What the Harry Potter is a Hemp Hog, you ask? MMmmmm!!! A Hemp Hog is a delicious little milk chocolate truffle made with hemp nut cream filling. This chocolate is high in/on Omega 3’s, 6’s and protein…it’s sweet and creamy, and oh so chocolaty….so if you simply gotta have a chocolate…..

Where was I? Oh yes, the curmudgeon. Needless to say, they took the candy, but didn’t take the hint (s).

So I guess this person is just a misery-grouse and there’s nothing I can do. I just have to put up with it (and reserve my spot on the wall for repeated head-banging) (although not to Marilyn Mason)(anymore)(that can give you nose bleeds, but I digress….)

Being a decent person, I decided to say a prayer for this sad, little soul. Another thing my mother always said to do (no, I didn’t ALWAYS do everything my mother told me to, but those are quite a few other posts!) So I prayed for their happiness, if they could find some, maybe, possibly, please!!!…..and then it hit me. A Revelation.

Maybe the person who drives me crazy every day is that way for a reason. Maybe they are miserable to show me how NOT to be. Maybe they are joyless to remind me how much I have to be joyful about. (sorry, I know I shouldn’t end on a preposition) Maybe they are sad, bitter and resentful to prompt me to be thankful. Maybe God, in His infinite wisdom, is using this person every day to teach others…to teach me! And if that’s the case, if He can use the office wet blanket, how can/is He using me?

My point?  I suppose I won’t be saying “No More Hemp Hogs for Mr. Nasty”

~Morgan~