By Sara Helton
As I walked around the shopping mall this past week, it was not easy to avoid the temptation to shop. I walked past the department stores and eyed the fancy clothes and nice perfumes. I noticed this jacket in the window that I really liked and then I looked down at my jacket and noticed a milk stain, a week- old pretzel and toy fire truck in my pockets and for a moment I thought, “I have had this same old jacket for 3 years now. The lining is torn in this jacket and I really could use a new one but the kids need… “ and soon my thoughts went on to their needs. I started to look around at the other moms , they had very nice handbags and again I looked at my handbag and I started to feel very inadequate. I found myself saying “why can’t I have the nice jackets and nice handbags?”
It can be very hard to avoid these feelings when society is always overwhelming you with what they think you need. . We all have feelings like this when we compare what we have to what others have. Women often say “ She’s so much thinner, prettier, exciting than me.” Or “ If I could only loose 10 more pounds…” I’ve learned in my life that this type of thinking will pull ones spirit down and then one day you find yourself looking at your life and feeling so terribly dissatisfied. I guard my sprit as my most treasured possession because I know that this world can take away many things from me but they can never touch my spirit. I also know that my children need a mother to reflect the attributes I want them to embrace, so the moment I realize these ungrateful and resentful feelings within myself, I force myself to stop and think about love. I know this may sound a bit strange to some, but let me explain. As I walked around the mall feeling like I deserved more than I was getting, I looked down at my old blue jacket with the ripped blue lining and the milk stains and thought of the moment with my boys when they lovingly brought me a glass of milk and then accidently spilled some on my jacket. I thought of the week old pretzel that was in my pocket and remembered when the boys were laughing and being silly and one of their pretzels fell on the floor and I picked it up for them and stuck it in my pocket. Then I thought of the toy fire truck that was in my other pocket and remembered that I had put it in my pocket when my little one slipped and I put it in my pocket to hold him. Then I started to think about the people in my life and not the things IN my life. This is when I remembered that my life was perfect just the way it was. When I stopped to think of my loving family, that jacket was not so important anymore.
As in all things in life, it is a slippery slope to compare your life to others, in any capacity. We all bring certain talents and beauty to this world that no other person can bring. When we compare these attributes to others , we compomise our greatest gift- Our spirit. When we compare ourselves to others we are never good enough. When we have inner peace, there is always enough. You are always enough.
Above all things, be good and kind!
