Life is all about choices, paths and experience. From the day that we are born life shapes our very being and no matter what we do experiences cannot be changed so the past has to stand, the present endured and the future; well that’s to be seen.

I have often thought over the years that other homes, lives, communities and choices have been better or wiser or more fulfilling than mine. In some cases that may be very true but maybe, just maybe, some are envious of my life and chances. I guess it is all about perspective and attitude.

I have seldom felt so relaxed and happy in life as I do today and  do I feel envy? No. That’s not to say that a modest lottery win would not go unwelcome or I could suddenly reshape my body into what it was like a few decades ago but on the whole I have found some sort of contentment. How? Through self examination, the willingness to be honest and the will to try and amend areas of attention without damage to my surroundings.

Its taken a long time to realise that one man’s lot is not all it can appear to be or a woman’s lot come to that. Yeah one may have the BMW, the big house, the trophy partner, cute kids and nice clothes but how  much of it is on credit or borrowed? How much does it cost to keep the partner happy or the kids at school? How much is an allusion? “The duck may look graceful and calm but the legs show a different story”.

I bet if every home, office and life had a fly on the wall camera recording all the time then we would see what little there is to feel jealous over.

The show home is sterile and false. It holds no character or tales of lives gone passed. But take that same home and put a life in it and revisit two years later and it will paint a different image. What? Who knows but I can assure you it will have changed and matured if only a little.

I don’t think I would change anything from my past as it has shaped who I am today and I have certainly made impressions of many who have tagged along with me on the way. If it was the path of finding comfort then I would walk it again willingly.

The man on the street may look poor and down-trodden but if one stopped and took the time to hear his story it would probably  fill a book or very personal tales and tragic moments. Whereas the high-flying businessman is often living a lie of false smiles, broken promises, misguided morals with shallowness and contempt all in the hunt for the dollar and greed.

That person my friends is not my bag or dream. That I can tell you with the uppermost certainty.

So when I see other lives, communities and homes I do not see green but give thanks to what I have and hopefully will enjoy in the future.

Don’t Get Green with envy look inwards to find the path to a new future.