Doc, there's a spider in my room

"Count your blessings" is a one way of expressing one of the most fundamental philosophies of Mellowness. Another way of expressing this attitude is "No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse."


For instance, the next time you have a problem with HMO or your hospital, just remember — at least it's not infested with poisonous spiders.
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Clarification:


A reader wrote:

"Things Could Be Worse" is quite a different attitude than "Count Your Blessings". The attitude behind it is bordering on paranoid and seems against the spirit of "mellowness", at least to me.

To which I replied:

You are quite right, Anonymous.

However, achieving Mellowness is for many people a slow, gradual process (sort of like learning how to operate a new DVD player).

Learning to always keep in mind that "things could be worse" is taking one step towards the much higher level of Mellowness expressed by "Count your blessings."

Or, as the Master says, "Before achieving perfect Mellowness, one must first stop punching the wall."

Knowwhatimean?



With apologies to arachnophobes, here it is, Australia's redback spider.


—Mellow Monk

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