As human beings, we need to continuously work to become spiritually advanced as much as we can. We need to pick the thorns that surround the roses in our hearts. Three such thorns are: cynicism, criticism and complaint.

Cynicism is fruitless verbosity that only satisfies our ego. It is in fact an expression of our arrogance and to some extent narcissism. It is dismissive and disdainful and hacks the humility in us. The incisive words in which it is generally couched not only deeply hurt the person they are directed at, they also portray us as a harsh critic instead of a gentle well-wisher.

Criticism, when it is not constructive, is also an expression of our continuous dislike for what is happening around us. We feel elevated when we criticize others because this makes us feel superior – whether we realize it or not. The best criticism is self-criticism. Let us turn the telescope in picking the faults of others towards our own selves. If each of us is able to do this, the need for criticizing others may not even arise.

Complaining about things beyond our control is like showing mistrust in the grand scheme of things framed by the Almighty. It leads us nowhere. It shows that we have not submitted to God’s will. More often than not this attitude deprives us of the will to even strive to alleviate those of our complaints which require determination and self-effort.

Let us root out these three evil C’s from our lives today!