Jealousy, Affirmation and the Right Path
Sometimes I’m jealous. I’ve been blogging a long time and I’m a strong writer. I’m a creative, smart and out-of-the-box kind of gal. I’m an honest and ethical reviewer. Most of the time I’m a pretty nice person (although I can take awhile to get to know). And, as I’ve said in the past, I don’t blog for the stuff. But still… it’s hard to see other bloggers get opportunity after opportunity, even when I know they work hard, too. And, yeah, my blog is smaller, but you can bet it would grow pretty fast if Disney dubbed me one of their official mom bloggers. [Yes, that’s just an example of a brand that I adore.]
I’m not the only blogger who feels a bit left out sometimes.
But, since it’s not about the stuff (or even the trips), I have to remind myself to keep things in perspective. I mean, I assume that someone will eventually invite me somewhere interesting. Then again, maybe not. Either way, I know I’m a fortunate person:
I have what I really want.
I have what I really need.
I’m on the right path.
I have my own income.
I have my own name.
And somehow, when I’m at my most frustrated, something wonderful comes along. It’s never what I thought I wanted. And it’s rarely what I thought I needed. Still, it’s always the next piece of solid footing on my path. The right path for me.
The truth is that when I stop looking at what I don’t have, I’m amazed by all that I do. And that’s what keeps me going.
That’s a good way to look at things. When I start thinking why don’t we have what others around us have, I just remember back
to a missions trip we did to Juarez Mexico to build a home for a mom and her children. Her eldest child a high school age boy was very mentally delayed. She was trying to raise three children on her own. People in this area were living literally in shacks made from wood pallets that they’d found and somehow hammered together. Some of their homes had great gaps. Granted in the summer with 110 plus heat in this area the gaps let in hot breezes, but in the winter these people have to find old papers and such to stuff into the gaps. Their toliets were outside and often just a very deep hole dug into the ground. Many of them could not afford a toliet to sit over the top of the hole even.
So, when I get the why’s and how comes I don’t have this or that as nice as someone else around me has, I just remember back and once again realize how fortunate I really truly am living here in the USA in this simply but well made home we have.
Thanks, Lauralee. For me, it’s not so much a have/have not issue. I’m not jealous of bigger houses, better cars, etc. It’s more than I want to be recognized (and rewarded) for my work. Just when I’m feeling low that some brand decided to work with a different blogger, I have something good happen. Like finding a new client, or being asked to speak at an event or getting good feedback. It’s a reminder to me to keep doing what I do, and doing it well!