Greener Grass

I know a lot of people -- successful people, people with jobs and families and houses and all of that stuff -- who are really unhappy.

Can I say this? I want to hug them. Then I want to smack them (in a non-violent, metaphorical way). Then I want to hug them again.

Because I get it -- I do, really -- that all of the stuff in the world doesn't make anyone happy. A six figure salary does not a lifetime of joy and bliss create.

However, at the same time, I know plenty of people who will probably NEVER make a six figure salary, and who are just barely hanging on to their five little figures, keeping a roof over their heads, wondering if the car can go just a few more months, please god, before completely dying because there's no money to replace it and, without a car, work becomes a huge issue and wow, we need to turn the heat WAAAAAY down because we can't afford the oil.

What I've noticed -- and I don't pretend this is true for everyone, mind you -- is that the people in the latter situation? Make the best of it. With attitudes like:  Eating dinner by candlelight might be saving on electricity, but it's also an adventure.  Snuggling up with someone else to stay warmer on a chilly night? Romantic, right? And at least there is a job to go to -- so many people aren't so lucky.

It's an exaggeration. And also, I'm not going to pretend that there isn't an amazing amount to get angry and stressed about in this economy. I'm just also saying that I hear more "I'm unhappy with my life" kinds of statements from people who have more than I do from people who have less.

I don't know why this is... except, maybe, I do. I was telling someone the other day that I liked high school because it was orderly -- do this, then this, then that, and boom! The end, successfully achieved. You always knew what to do next.

I think that for a lot of people, they look at life that way too... as a series of steps, of things that they're supposed to do. Buy a house. Work the job. Have a family. All of those are wonderful, amazing accomplishments ... if they're what you want. If they're not what you want, if they're only what you think you're supposed to want, without having ever considered WHY you're going down that path, then I think it would be easy to find yourself with your list of "what I'm supposed to do" nicely checked off and a feeling of despair somewhere around the middle of your soul.

This is why, I think, the bunch of us at the bottom of this particular pile, though yes, sometimes stressed and worried, are happier in general. I'd rather love what I do and how I do it and chase after my dreams than the ones someone else has planned out for me. 

The grass might be greener in someone else's yard, it's true. But that's just landscaping.