Part Eight
It came to me while folding clothes: The Grass Is Always
Greener on the Other Side of the Fence!
I am not certain why this age-old adage came to me this morning. I found myself thinking about how many folks
are caught up in that thought. Someone
else got the best job. If I had the same
tip so-and-so got, I could have cashed in.
Some folks get all the breaks. It seems easier to moan and groan than to
just get on with life doing the best you are capable of doing.
I think it may have been one of the first sayings I remember
hearing when I was just a youngster. Maybe I first heard it when I was about
ten years of age. Our family lived on
two and a half acre piece of land just off Walker Road in Beaverton, Oregon.
(The Nike complex is now located in that area.)
We were raising chickens, rabbits and goats, and selling the produce in
the Portland Farmers Market. Our goats
kept sticking their heads through any fence to get at the grass on the other
side. It was probably my dad who first
uttered the adage.
It may be because of that awareness that I have never been overly
consumed with the notion that I was disadvantaged in any way. Certainly, there have been others who excelled
beyond what I might be doing, but good for them, I thought. People have made
the comparison between their own lives and those of others they thought were
more fortunate since the beginning of time,
- Ovid (Ancient Poet): Traced the idea
in Latin as Fertilior seges est alienis semper in agris ("the
harvest is always more fruitful in another man's fields").
- Robert Fulghum (Author): Famous for the
counter-proverb, "The grass is greenest where it is watered,"
encouraging self-investment.
- Wolfgang Puck (Chef): Adapted this
into "The grass is greener where you water it," emphasizing
tending to your own relationships and life.
- Cecil Selig (Quote Attribution): Suggested
the greener grass means others take better care of it, shifting focus to
effort.
It seems to me we each have our own options as to how we
will attempt to guide our lives toward success and satisfaction. How one person does it may offer a
suggestion, but you still have to make your own way forward. Learn what you can
from your experience and use it in your unique manner. I am reminded of the
parable of the talents, Matthew 25:21, 23 NASB. "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful
slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your master'". And then, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV.
A final
thought, apropos of nothing, it also came to me as I was folding clothes: I do
not remember the last time I lost a sock in the wash!
