Comparing Ourselves

Okay - so I don't have as many uh-oh's as jennifer. After all, the Gilmore Girls season opener is safely recorded on my Tivo - and my computer. (So I don't trust technology). And Jen- you're welcome to come over;-) Though I did back my van into the garage one day. Still pretty mortified to admit THAT one.

Isn't it funny how even though the scriptures tell us that all sorts of evil breaks out when we compare ourselves - we still do it anyway!! i find myself reading other people's posts thinking "Man! I should have written something more serious. Or less serious...or funnier or" you get the point...

One of my other pleasures is watching Survivor and Amazing Race. I love watching the competitions but maybe because I'm a fiction writer, I'm always fascinated by people and the way they interact. (Yes, that's my excuse for never missing an eopisode and I'm sticking to it!) In shows like Survivor, you don't want to stick out too much - the ones that take control early tend to get the boot. But you don't want to fade into the scenery either. You've got to stay in the thick of the pack early on so that when the time is right you can make your move.

But i find it amazing that most people are pretty clueless about how they come off to others. One guy - Mr. Cowboy - doesn't seem to notice the blank stares as he tells yet another story - cracking himself up. Another guy works hard to convice someone to vote with him and he doesn't even notice her body language isn't buying it at all.

It honestly makes me wonder how I come off to other people too. Am I just as clueless? And it's not something that you can find out real easy either. It would be kind of cool (and horrifying) is we could be taped for a while. Then we could see the way others see us from the outside. We would be aware of our annoying little tics - the things we say over and over - and habits that we have no idea about.

My point? Let's see if I can make one. I guess it's this: We only see life from one perspective. We only see one side of other people. And they only see one side of us. Resist the urge to figure out where you stand all the time. If we just relax and focus on pleasing God, well, it will make our lives with other people that much sweeter.