REALITY BITES

Be careful of who and what you envy. 

Sometimes people try so hard to get you to see what they WANT you to see, that you mess around and see what's REALLY there. 

Reality not only changes your perspective, it alters your view of the people who are so desperate for your attention. 

It makes you aim higher than the glitter you thought was gold, and go for the real deal. 

It makes you think smarter; be wiser, and make better choices. 

It makes you realize that there are times when nothing is better than something. 

The revelation of the suffering that God has spared you, by not allowing some things to enter or remain in your life, will make you want to dance. 

If your ship is tight and impenetrable, it will be obvious. 

Work on the core of it, not the facade. If you have to put on a show EVERY time you encounter certain people, it only serves to communicate that all is not well with you.

 

Own the truth of your situation. If it's broken, own it. Don't worry about what others think or see. Use your energy to fix what you know is wrong. Shore up the foundation. Repair the fractures and breaches, but don't pretend they aren't there.

Don't try so hard to make others covet that with which you aren't even satisfied. It only brings your wisdom, sanity, self-worth, and decision-making skills into question.

You ALWAYS have a choice. 

There is a difference between making an investment and dressing up failure. 

I paint, so I know a whitewash when I see one; What's underneath can be covered, but it never really goes away. 

Whether it's for cosmetic purposes, or to hide a glaring mistake, the truth is still there. 

For gloating and posturing over the whitewash to work effectively, it has to be done before an audience of those who don't know any better--who can't see the streaks. 

Endeavor to have something that's real and functioning properly if you're going to boast. Have something worth having. Painting it, or a situation to make it appear coveted and perfect may make you feel better, but every time you trot it out into the light; every time you bring it out from behind closed doors, discerning eyes will see what's authentic and what's not. 

When it is widely known that what you have is fake, defective, unstable, inconsistent, troublesome, unfaithful, or untrustworthy why would you think that anyone would want it in their lives? 

When others see that you have no control over what you have, because it has proven it cannot be, or does not wish to be improved upon, changed, tamed, fixed, or made new, what makes you think that anyone wants any part of the stress it causes you? 

Besides, others don't have to covet what you have if it is readily available to them because it makes itself so. 

There's are reasons, however, why others declined to have something in their lives--even if it is offered on a silver platter. 

They know that although it looks good, it is faulty. 

They also see the misery, effort, expense, and embarrassment it causes you, and decide that your experience is the best teacher. 

How tragic to deceive yourself into thinking that you are envied and favored, when what you really are is a walking billboard for what not to be, have, want, say, think, or do.

Parading and broadcasting a lie to those who know the truth is a futile exercise. Perhaps, instead of trying to make yourself feel better by thinking that others want what you have, you should examine why, after all of the blood, sweat and tears you've invested, you even want, and still hang on to it.

No one is sitting around wishing they could be in another person's anxious, stressful shoes. 

Insecurity is loud, antsy and unstable. It's pushy and all over the place. It distorts a beautiful face, and stresses the heart. It makes an otherwise rational person continue to desire, hoard, support, and finance what is sucking the life out of them, and giving them nothing but grief in return.

Be it human or inanimate, actual or personified, don't waste time mourning a headache or heartache. 

Too often people spend time mourning what they thought, wished, and hoped could have been, as opposed to celebrating the termination of the hell that was. There's nothing good about a headache--except maybe that it serves to expose a more serious issue in you that you need to have corrected, or eliminated immediately. 

If you can't manage getting rid of the aches on your own, hire a professional. 

Self-medicating and over the counter stuff might not be potent enough. Those aches are warnings that something needs to go--and stay gone. 

Don't excuse, sugarcoat, romanticize, or be in denial about the aches in your life--especially those initiated and perpetuated by other people. Stop learning to live with what you know is consistently hurting you, and then spend all of your time trying to make others think you're on top of the world. No one is fooled. Stop fooling yourself. 

Reality bites. When those pains are gone, you'll feel and be a whole lot better...and you'll slap yourself for ever looking back.