Moaners and Whiners

Me being a Gemini sometimes has this weird effect of finding my 'Second Me' standing right next to me, observing. I would love to think that I am floating around like an angel or an airy ghost, but no, I’m just plain silly and non-gorgeously standing there.

Second Me’s duty seems to be to give me a replay of things when I am not really prepared for it, just to tease a bit. Like when I am under a nice hot shower and all of a sudden I am punished with an additional hot flush of vivid, Technicolor-recollection: ‘Oh my goodness, I didn’t really do this, did I?’

From those recollections I realised that apparently I do moan a lot. I seem to be moaning about almost everything; I moan about things going on in the world, at work and especially about things related to me: fat legs, stringy hair, veins, no time, lack of sleep, wrinkles,… You name it I moan about it.

On the other hand, though I am a happy bunny. How do those two things go together then? Now it occurred to me: There is a difference between moaners and whiners.

Moaners are actually people who take a close look on things and have a lot of interests. A bit opinionated, maybe, but generally they want to know how thing work and why they are the way they are. Additionally a moaner talks a lot, hence every question that might pop up while observing, comes straight out of their mouth: ‘Why on earth, is that green and not blue? Why can’t they have street work done at night? Oh my goodness, look at these wobblies, why oh why do women have to have them, sooo unfair!?!’

Now, whiners are usually similarly opinionated, but there is a difference. While the moaner expresses opinions in a firm voice with theatrical intonation, the whiner resorts to a rather high pitched, faint voice as if carrying all the weight of all those questions on their shoulders. They constantly are expecting more questions to crop up adding to the load, what makes them miserable before it even happens. Due to their concerned state of mind they consider themselves the pillars of society - what do I say – of the world, and do they get praise? No, of course not! Not a single: ‘Thank You’. Ever!

See, that is the big difference between moaners and whiners: While whiners consider everything happening in their oh so miserable lives the fault of others which one can’t do anything about, the moaner is not judgemental: Opinionated yes, judgemental no! For them ‘sh.. just happens’ and as far as they are concerned one can do something about it. Moaning is what drives them to make things better, to take things into their own hands. They might be a bit pushy at times, but since their frame of mind is set on improvement they are able to learn and to change their minds about things, something a whiner can’t do.

It would be nice though, if once in a while all of them would just shut up!