Grass is Green On the Other Side of the Fence

A Panoramic view from our house of the fields on the other side of the fence (Click on the image for a bigger view)

I read this nice article in a psychology journal. It deals with social and behavioural psychology and human perception. I thought I will take a nice snap which literally says that the Grass is Greener On the Other Side of the Fence .. in this case our house.

Is The Grass Really Greener On the Other Side of The Fence Or Did Someone Just Spray Paint Your Lawn?

We always feel like the world is against us, when the reality can be so different. Everyone has these feelings of inadequacy from time to time.

Everyone, it seems, believes that everyone else’s lifestyle is better than our own. Some of us are rich, some of us are poor, and most of us are somewhere in between. But no matter where we are in this world or who we are, we always find something better on the other side of the fence. I’ve seen cows following that philosophy by reaching their heads through the fence twice, once to eat the grass on the opposite side and again to eat the grass on the side they are currently standing in. No matter how many times you cross that fence, it will always be greener on the other side.

Some people like to show off their toys; expensive cars, designer clothes, techno-baubles, whatever they believe will make them more important than everyone around them. This may provide a momentary satisfaction but never a lasting one. They always have to be bigger, better, stronger, smarter, richer, and prettier than anyone else, and are never content when they get what they seek. There is always someone somewhere who has it better, or so they think.

It’s like glorified window dressing, or like spray painting your grass so that it appears greener than anyone else’s in the neighborhood. A futile effort, to say the least, and an endless one. Why do we always seek to be better than the world around us when we could in fact, be impressive enough just the way we are right now? None of us ever feels completely comfortable in our own skin. We always feel like someone’s pointing or laughing, or talking about us behind our backs. In reality, those people are probably feeling much the same way, and no doubt are wondering how we manage to hold it all together so well.

You never can tell what someone else might be thinking so you always assume the worst, I know I always do, and that is always more harmful than it needs to be. If we would simply ignore the worst of those feelings when they come over us and try to find a way to get out of those doldrums, we would all be much better off. Instead of doing that, however, we simply grab hold of all those negative emotions and let them feed off of us. This creates stress, which in turn, creates disease. Nobody ever developed stress from happiness.

I think what we really need to do in this crazy world of ours, is try to spread a little joy around, even if that means just tossing out a smile or two along the way. People usually respond positively to a smile, except for that rare sourpuss who never smiles about anything. Let’s not be that person, with the weight and gloom of the world pressing us down, but smile, and look happy, and before long you’ll see other people smiling and looking happy, and eventually, some of that may even become real.