does having a pretty yard make you good?

Good morning folks!

Happy Sunday.

I live in the country.

i am awakened in the morning

by birds and barking dogs,

crows and fighting seagulls…

I love the fact that i live near the ocean

but i wonder sometimes why so many people

 seem so obsessed with landscaping

and with having pretty things.

When i go for my morning walks,

i am amazed at how manicured some of the properties are.

Sometimes i think there must be a competition going on

that i'm not aware of. 

;-)

As i write this (it is 9am on Sunday)

i hear the sound of a chain saw cutting through my ears…

the neighbour across the street is "trimming" his trees again.

I love a nice garden

(this is the first year of many we decided not to put one in)

and i certainly love flowers,

but i see all these people spend most of their weekends working in the yard

and i never see them relaxing in the yard

or sitting in their beautiful matching white wicker Costco furniture in the yard

or just enjoying the scenery...

and i sometimes wonder, why they do it.

I realize it's important to have pride in your property

but i wonder how many are playing the

"my property is prettier than yours" game?

Is it me or have we become ridiculously obsessed

with appearances?

The houses we own

the cars we drive

the clothes we wear

all seem to be screaming "look at me! I'm successful!!"

Yeah, you're also an alcoholic,

hooked on anti-depressants,

and you've disowned your own child because he's gay.

Let's not try to hide that behind the pretty flowers, 'kay?

I'll never be impressed with such shallow beauty.

What impresses me is what's inside the person

as cheesy as that may sound.

If you look past the pretty flowers,

past the beautifully manicured lawns

past the BMW and the Mercedes…

you'll find a normal human being

with the same fears and doubts and regrets as you or I

who often feels less worthy without his "things".

I know because there are some in my family

who surround themselves with things

and try to make themselves feel better about who they are.

It never works.

I am never diminished by what my neighbour has

that i don't have,

including the perfectly manicured lawn

and the pretty flowers.

These things don't matter to me.

What matters is who you are as a person

and if you're a good person,

i'll like you,

and if you're an asshole, i won't.

Pretty things doesn't mean pretty people.

xoxo