Complaint through Song

Life is full of surprises. Life is full of laughter and joy. Life is full of happiness. However, nobody is always happy all the time. It is almost impossible that one should not experience a tinge of annoyance or unhappiness once. Where do our negative feelings ultimately come from? I think it comes from our satisfaction level.

Homo-sapiens (simply a fancy-dandy word for human beings a.k.a. you or me or anyone who isn’t from outer space – other living creatures not included in definition) I feel, are beings of insatiable wants and desires. We may be satisfied with life as it is today, but not tomorrow. The habit of taking the local public transportation may prove to be an annoyance after having driven a car for a few months. One simply is not satisfied with having to wait for the bus or journey at a slower pace or walk to the bus stop and from it and so on. In the past, it may have been a necessity, and thus we learn to deal – we may not be satisfied but we aren’t unsatisfied either.

This insatiable desire to want more – to covet something different – is probably what drives our economy. It drives us to get the latest PS3 although we may already have a PS2. It drives us to change our mobile phones an insane number of times through “upgrading” – which basically means getting a new mobile phone and spending more money. It drives us to buy new clothes because we feel we don’t have enough piled up in our closet, or that it’s not what we desire to wear anymore.

Even where altruism is concerned, it drives us to help the people we term are ‘less fortunate”. We are obviously not satisfied with the way things are in life – or with ourselves.

It’s not very uncommon that this dissatisfaction leads us to complain – and Singaporeans are purported to be very good at it. Complaining is always associated with something negative. It is not new to have someone who’s known to complain a lot to be known either as a b*tch or unreasonable, just plain difficult or looking for trouble. There’s a fine line between feedback and complaining mind you.

Have you ever thought how you complain to others (if you ever have – which I’m sure most of us have)? Do you moan and groan? Do you rattle on about the event in complete detail? Do you talk at the top of your voice or at an increased volume? Do you tell as many people as possible? Complaint can be a positive process too, if done in a relatively amiable fashion. How you ask? Well, the “Helsinki Complaint Choir” has made complaining a musical event.

You can visit them @ http://www.complaintschoir.org/ if you want to know more about them. A Quick Blurb in case you’re too lazy and want to be spoon fed the short version: The pet peeves and pleas of the people in Helsinki are collected by Finnish artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and composed into this work of lyrical art which is sung by a choir to the masses. The music is composed by Esko Grundström.

Watching that, another thought bubble popped into my mind. For what purpose do we complain? Do we do so to seek attention? To voice a grievance hoping it would be changed for the better? Do we complain for the sake of complaining – simply because we can? Why do we complain and for whom will it benefit? If it doesn’t help matters in present or future, nor does it help anyone (presumably there is no impact except negativity) for what do we complain?

In any case, I think if all of us take a more light hearted approach to complaining, we could all have some fun at the same time accomplishing the same thing. I’m not talking about singing. I’m talking about cracking a joke about it. I’m talking about not raising voices. I’m talking about the possibility of hurting or offending someone less. I’m talking about a way life could be great – even when there’s dissatisfaction.