Don’t you just love a story about a character whose life is perfect? No problem to solve? No controversy to resolve? No relationship to mend? No natural disaster to overcome? No internal demon to slay?
What a page turner.
And I mean that as sarcastically as possible.
This is precisely what mystifies me about our preoccupation with ‘perfect’ people living ‘perfect’ lives.
What happens when we are privy only to the successes of others?
When we only see the weight loss? The vacations? The happy family gatherings? The promotions? The model children? The marathon medals?
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with sharing accomplishments. (Just want to set the record straight in case you are about to stick a pin in your Karen doll.) My issue comes when accomplishments are all we see in the ‘perfect’ lives of ‘perfect’ people.
When we are made to feel real life shouldn’t have seasons of highs and lows.
Sometimes I wonder if our obsession stems from wanting to see how difficulties are handled. Needing to see they can be handled. Hoping to see they are temporal. Because I think we can acknowledge there really aren’t ‘perfect’ people with ‘perfect’ lives.
Granted, it’s more difficult to share the challenging times. (For most people anyway.)
It’s what you overcome that matters most, so if you hide your struggles, how can you encourage others? How can people relate to you? How can you develop empathy?
And I know I should be grateful for a life which provides me with opportunities to learn. To become wiser. To become better. Even when the process is uncomfortable (at best), but more likely messy and painful.
Something to Eat
Power Plates by Gena Hamshaw
Sorry. This is not a link to a recipe. However, this cookbook is worthy of buying. I’m not sure why it took so long for me to purchase it, but I am so glad I finally did. I gave up putting sticky notes on the pages with recipes I wanted to try, because there were more pages with sticky notes than without. I love how Gena balances nutrition with taste. I love how I don’t have to think about putting a healthy meal together. I love how it helped me stock my pantry shelves. (Plus, the pictures are incredibly drool worthy!)
Something to Read
The Future of Nutrition
by T. Colin Campbell, PhD
As you know, my ‘One Word’ for 2021 is truth. This book helped me find several truths. It’s not a ‘you need to eat this’ type of book. It’s a ‘this is what goes on behind the scenes and why false information is running rampant’ book.
Something to Ponder
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
Ernest Hemingway
Here’s to getting back on track.
And here’s to honoring the spirit of this post.
February was a challenging month. And I write challenging, but what I really want to say is awful. But I won’t say awful, because I know for a fact my challenges are far less significant than what others have experienced and I’m not really feeling the ‘my life is so hard’, post.
But truthfully, I’ve felt sorrow. I’ve felt guilt. I’ve felt fear. I’ve felt frustration. I’ve felt anger. I’ve felt disappintment.
I’ve felt a loss of control. A feeling I’ve rarely handled well and has gotten me in trouble.
But I’m learning.
I can have control. Or I can have growth.
But I can’t have both.
Karen Hovie Writes 