Do You Need A New Deck Too?

Our neighbors recently tore down their old deck and built a new one that is beautiful.  They put it up a few months ago so it would be ready in time for the summer and ready it is.  It looks wonderful.  You can smell the wood when it rains. 

Our deck is loved.  It’s in great condition, but could use a power spraying and a new coat of stain. Now that I look out onto the deck, the grill is a little old too.  Ok, it’s really old and think a wasp family has taken up residence inside the lid.  Maybe we should redo our deck this summer and get us a new grill?

…….

It’s that simple.   That’s how the train of thought begins; someone has something new, someone is traveling to an exotic place, someone is going back to school, someone is opening a new on-line store, and the list goes on.   We are sucked in to the mindset that what we have, where we are, what we’re doing and even who we are, isn’t good enough.  

We should have what they have.  We should go where they are going.  We should do what they are doing.  We should be who they are.  Why do we tell ourselves these things?

Our nature is to compete and improve, which I think isn’t always a bad thing.  That is, if you’re competing with yourself and trying to open your mind to new things or listening to your heartstrings for direction.  

We need not to worry about what everyone else is accomplishing but rather listen to our own lives and do what we feel we need. 

Maybe that means seeking more knowledge for a career. Maybe that means spending less time in front of the tv.  Maybe that means sitting alone in the park writing.  Maybe that means getting a second job to pay for a dream vacation.  Maybe that means getting a new deck.

We matter just where we are, right now.  We are enough.   You are enough.  I am enough.  Read it again. You are enough.  Any improvements you chose to make upon yourself are just fluff, because the core you, the real you, is enough.

It’s that simple.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy when it comes to valuing ourselves.  If I had her long legs, I’d be better.  If I had his bank account balance, I’d be happier.  If I went to Figi life would be more enjoyable.  If I had as many friends as she has, I’d smile more.  We continue to tell ourselves these non-truths (for lack of a better word) and believe them.  We believe we aren’t ok as we are right now, in my 15 year old sleep t-shirt with the hold under the arm, green fuzzy socks, and my hair in a messy ponytail.  Well, guess what?  I am ok.  Right now.

Where we are on our paths is just that.  Where we are on our path.  Every road is different and when we start believing that old saying….”The grass is always greener on the other side,” is when we get ourselves in trouble.  Enjoy your path.  Live your path.  No other path is like it.  You are on a unique journey.

Not one path in this life is alike.  Not one.  

And, for the record, I don’t need a new deck or a new stainless steel grill with all the bells and whistles.  I can enjoy the sun on the loved deck just fine sitting next to our good ‘ole  grill.