I heard a song lyric the other day that I absolutely loved. If I were the kind to put bumper stickers on my car, it would be front and center on my bumper.
I have no idea what song this was from or who sings it, mind you. (I prefer pretty, folksy/jazzy singers like Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michealson over today’s top 10 dance/pop/rap celebs.) But I forgot my iPod that morning and was stuck listening to the radio, which I normally never listen to.
I was just flipping through stations when I heard this lyric:
The grass ain’t always greener on the other side; it’s green where you water it.
Again, no idea what song this was or what it was about, since I switched the station shortly after catching this line, but I love the line itself.
The grass ain’t always greener on the other side; it’s green where you water it.
Forget the Joneses’ grass.
It’s so easy to compare ourselves to other people and our lives to other people’s lives. Our friends have cooler smartphones than we do…Our coworkers make more money than we do…Our neighbor’s drive nicer cars than we do.
But comparing what we have to what someone else has it pointless.
Because no matter what’s on “the other side” of the fence, the only thing under our control is our own little patch of grass. All we can do is pay attention to making our grass the most loved-for, cared-for, and toe-squishingly soft grass we can.
And while we’re busy worrying over what other people have, we’re neglecting what we have.
Get out your sprinkler.
So, on this Monday morning that’s probably kind of dreary in many parts of the world, forget about what you don’t have or what others do have, and ask yourself this:
How is your “grass” (your life, your family, your health) doing? Are you giving it the loving-kind attention it needs? Or are you too busy envying what’s on the other side of the fence?
~Heart,
Em
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photo credit: kitch
The song is “As Long as You Love Me,” by…Justin Bieber (featuring a guy who does the rap you heard). Bet you didn’t realize the Biebs was so deep! 😉 I like that lyric, too.
I have definitely gone through periods of time when I was jealous of other people’s lives (or at least, certain aspects of their lives and how they appeared from the outside). But I have tried really hard to focus on being grateful for everything I do have, and to work on improving areas of my life that I wanted to be different instead of wasting my time envying others. Easier said than done, but so worthwhile.
Well, possibly it’s from a different song. I don’t know what you heard. But that lyric is definitely in the song I mentioned. 🙂
Yikes! I was listening to Justin Bieber! j/k 🙂
I like how you point out how people’s lives “appear from the outside.” That’s a really good point when it comes to envying the other side of the fence. Lots of people put up “everything is great” fronts but are secretly going through troubles of their own. Just because you think someone else’s life is worth envying, you never know what it’s actually like on the inside.
This statement could not be more true .. BTW, sounds like a country song 😉 Love it! Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome!
And yeah, Marie was right. I looked up the lyrics for that Justin Bieber song, and that section I heard sounded familiar.
Not a huge Bieber fan myself (and I sadly have no idea who “Big Sean” is), but they definitely nailed it with that line. 🙂
No matter if it came from the Biebs, it is a pretty cool line.
When the grass isn’t that green, I usually still focus on my patch of land, but try to think about three positive things. It’s raining outside? Time for some cocooning, I can stay late in bed and have a warm chocolate.
I certainly try, but I can’t say I succeed all the time! Which is silly – overall I love my job, my fiance, the general aspects of my life – but it’s so easy to get caught up in the details and the small grievances. It’s so easy in the blogging world to compare yourself to others and their picture perfect lives, but none of us can (or wants to) disclose 100% on the web.
But I’m happy to say most of the time, things are sweet – and I loved this post last week on Stratejoy about not apologising for loving life. http://www.stratejoy.com/2012/10/should-i-feel-guilty-about-loving-my-life-2/
I hope you don’t mind if I steal that post for an upcoming Blog Roundup. It made me want to stand up and cheer!
I feel the same way about some (OK, a lot) of the bloggers I follow. They’re all doing such incredible things, and sometimes it makes me feel like I ought to be doing more…skydiving or starting my own businesses or…something. But you know what? I like my life the way it is. I’m not unhappy with it…I just need to learn to realize in how many ways I AM happy, if that makes sense.
This is a great perspective! Love love love it, definitely including this is in my blog round up. Thanks for the perspective.
Aw…thanks! I’m honored to be included. 🙂