New Years Resolution #1: I shall not covet my neighbour's stuff!

Photo by Cynthia K

I have to admit, this is a tough one. I started off the New Year, talking to my brother (the shiny, rich, perfectly attired brother!) and he recounted his absolutely perfect New Year's celebration. He related how he and his beautiful wife had a lovely pre-New Years party at their home with drinks and hors d'oeuvres for 16 of their closest friends. Then the party posse moved to the country club down the road, where they rang in the New Year with a lavish dinner, drinks and dancing. DANG! That's the New Year's celebration I wanted. Instead, I worked at my real job until 6pm, came home dog tired, we ordered Chinese take-out, watched the ball drop on the television, went to sleep, then got food poisoning and spent the next two days in bed. Ouch.

Coveting is a difficult thing. My human frailty leads me to do it every now and again. My brother's life often seems so polished and perfect (there's that word again!) it makes me crazy. My own life seems harried, disorganized and chaotic in comparison. Their home looks like a decorating magazine. Mine looks  half-finished, toy-strewn, kid-friendly, and not too clean in comparison. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. 

Other people's lives often look great in comparison to our own. Not having a bird's eye view into their homes often makes us skew our vision of what their lives must be like. Seeing all the beautiful possessions, the tailored clothes and the shiny cars makes many people crazy! (myself included) Why can't my life be like that (or sort of like that!). 

It's difficult to take that step back, and breathe. Coveting our neighbour's stuff is human, but not particularly productive. It inhibits our own growth process. If we want to change our lives (financial, social, personal) we have to look within. Examining our history, our habits and our frailties is the first step. Only then can we get an idea of what we need to do, what goals we want to set, what steps need to be taken to improve our lives. It is possible. Just shove those covetous thoughts aside already!

«What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things.» — Margaret Mead