A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

A large family, homeschooling, adoption, special needs, whatever strikes my fancy, sort of blog.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

J is for Jealousy

I think blogs can be dangerous.

It's easy to look at someone's blog and get a snapshot of what their life is like and think they've got everything together.

I find myself looking at a blog and comparing my world to their world.  "Oh, they're off to China for another adoption!"  Insert little green monster of envy here.  Or, "Wow, they have more kids than I do, and their oldest is only 13!"  Or, "They've got twins!  I've always thought it would be so cool to have twins."  Wistful sigh.  Or, "Wow, they do such cool homeschooling stuff!  All I ever do is nag my kids to finish their book work.  I wish my kids would work harder to get the boring stuff done so we could do more fun stuff."  Even reading about loving gestures from a husband to a wife can make me a little more  sad and lonely when Paul is gone for days at a time.  

Jealousy is an ugly thing.  

It's important to keep things in perspective and realize that you're only seeing what the blog writer wants you to see.  The hard things they may not be writing about are just as much a part of their life.

I've deliberately NOT created an account on Pinterest.  I don't want to go there.  I don't want to see all the amazing things that other people are making/doing.  I don't want to diminish what I *am* doing by feelings of inferiority.  

My life isn't perfect, and I hope no one who reads my blog thinks that it is.  I've got my challenges just like everyone else.  But my life is a good life, and I need to remember to appreciate where God has me, and not covet where He's placed other people.  

9 comments:

  1. I'm with you on this one! BTW, I don't have a Pinterest account either. :-)

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  2. Amen. But I have gotten great recipes in pintrest.

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  3. Amen. But I have gotten great recipes in pintrest.

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  4. Amen. But I have gotten great recipes in pintrest.

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  5. Great post. However, I LOVE Pinterest. I don't get jealous of it, I see it as a great place to store (and find) ideas, so I don't have to keep it all in my head, lol. Heaven knows there's little enough that stays in there...

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  6. This is so true! Blogs don't show the whole picture. Plus, we shouldn't be comparing our lives to others anyway. We are different from everyone else...and that's OKAY! :)

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  7. I think this is why we enjoy reading other's blogs. It gives us a comparison points to our own lives. Which is sad because we're all different and have different lives. I think your's is fine!

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  8. I was reading a story about a correlation between Facebook and depression. Some people would see all the happy photos and read about what everyone was doing and feel left out and lonely. They need to realize they're only seeing the best side of things and not the pain those people feel. It's like envying a celebrity who seems to have it made and then you read about them committing suicide or doing something ridiculous. Everyone has some pain in their lives. I'll keep mine thank-you since I know what it is and am learning to deal with it.


    Lee
    Places I Remember
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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