Is the grass greener on the other side or is it merely how we perceive things to be for others? Have our own minds tricked us into believing it? Do we think there is such an imbalance of abundance that others have it better than us?
Many of us, at some point in our lives, have looked at our neighbours, friends, relatives or co-workers and thought their lives seemed perfect, only to be surprised when what we thought was perfection actually turns out to be far from it. Appearances can be deceiving and things are often not what they seem. Our thoughts about something are just thoughts, not always consisting of facts. So, why are we still entranced by appearances and what purpose do these thoughts serve?
Maybe it’s just human nature to want something you don’t have or is it a case of admiring another life simply because its not your own? We would rather be over there than here; our thoughts fall to devising plans on how to get there rather than stay here, especially if here is not that great. We begin to imagine how being there can somehow save us, but can it?
Moving cities, changing jobs, travelling, ending relationships or embarking on new ones are all changes to our circumstances but if we remain stuck in the same pattern of thinking and make no changes to our level of consciousness, we will undoubtedly, experience and encounter the same situations and predicaments we did before. The surface appearance may have altered but the foundation is still the same, for instance, a change in location, is simply a change in location. To get the most out of a change to your circumstances, a shift in your thought pattern is needed or else you find yourself right back where you started from.
Many of us struggle with an imbalance of thought between the here and now, and the future. In our minds, everything seems to be taking place in the future. We are happier, thinner, richer and so on, in this magical place called the future. However, the future is ultimately a thought form, it doesn’t exist yet, only in our minds. There is a constant need to get to the future when the present moment is all you have. We invest so much of our time waiting for our lives to begin or waiting for our lives to resemble the lives of those we deem as successful.
How often have we been surprised when someone whom we thought loved their job, suddenly leaves it, explaining they never had any passion for it in the first place? Or when a couple close to us, ends a long-term relationship, when everyone saw them as soul mates? The truth is we never really know what is happening in someone’s life, we can only make assumptions based on what we see and what they tell us and even that is unreliable. Some of us feel the pressure to keep the act up even when in the midst of unhappiness. We think by maintaining the charade and concealing our humanity, none will be the wiser.
We live in a media driven world where there is a daily deluge of information and images of what a happy, successful, fulfilled life should look like, unfortunately, some of us start to believe it and when our lives fail to reflect the projected ideals, we think we are falling behind. However, its never wise to replace your own thoughts for someone else’s. You are the only person who knows what is good for you.
Success, happiness and all the good stuff is relative. Each person has a different image of what success looks like. It is dependent on so many individual factors, such as your own personal tastes, your ideals, your goals and the things you perceive as important. These factors vary from person to person.
Viewing the grass as greener on the other side is just another way of saying no to the present and in doing so, we shut ourselves off from limitless opportunities embedded in the here and now. If we are too busy envying another pasture, we end up neglecting our own.
