Surprised by the obvious?

Here is a song I have been enjoying a lot lately that plays on the radio often. I thought I knew what it was about until I saw the video. Just like with life; sometimes we make assumptions when the truth (in hindsight) was clearly there if we had only paid enough attention and read between the lines...




People may be scared of themselves, what they might lose, their image, or just in denial, but few are actually honest with others about who they are at their core. The example above just happens to be a really big one. The book, The Four Agreements, reminds us that other people do not think like us. This concept is difficult for me to assimilate.  *sigh*   Sure I know people think differently, but I naturally assume that their motives are pure and that they are as honest and forthright as I am. That is silly because in reality I am assuming they are the exception.

Don't be jealous of what somebody's got unless you're willing to do what they did to get it.

Many years ago, I heard Joyce Meyer say "Don't be jealous of what somebody's got unless you're willing to do what they did to get it." Her quote has stuck with me ever since.

This morning I was at the gym. There is one woman who is so inspiring--I'll call her Monica. Everytime I see her, I work out harder. I've never witnessed her lifting weights (always during a cardio class), but her body is clear proof that she does. Morning obligations prevent me from getting to the gym earlier, so I arrive 10 minutes before this high-energy dance class ends. Monica always looks like she's having a great time. Compared to everyone else, she doesn't look tired and her moves look like real dance instead of exercise. She is so light on her feet it is an absolute pleasure to watch.

20 minutes into my weight workout, a spin class was starting. Monica, who just finished an intensive 1 hour dance class, immediately heads to the spin room! I follow and choose the bike behind her and to the left. From my vantage point, I focus on her incredible thighs while not being obvious.

The equipment was old, there were no fans (!!), and the class seemed to last forever. Several times I wanted to stop. Then I looked around. Not only did Monica have great legs (the best body in the gym, IMHO), several of the other women did too. This is what I want. I've never been satisfied with my legs. Everytime I thought about leaving class early, "Don't be jealous of what somebody's got unless you're willing to do what they did to get it" played in my head.

After I completed the class, I was super proud of myself. It took about 40 minutes to consciously think about that, in order to achieve my goal, I will have to do this repeatedly. Ugh. But, I'm willing to do what Monica does to get it.   *smile*

This is what I consider a perfect set of legs:

Picture found at: http://www.dirtyandthirty.com/

Collecting

Do you collect anything? Have you in the past? It could be something of value or to eventually profit off of. It's even possible that you collect as something to do, but it holds little value to you..

Now think about your collections. How would other people view it? Cool? Weird? Nerdy? Everybody judges, even those of us who try not to. Whatever you put your time, attention, and love into is being judged by everyone you know. I welcome questions about that which I collect and try to show interest in others by asking about their collections. When someone doesn't ask, it shows that they don't care.

I have had two main things I have collected: money and condoms. No, not the way you are thinking...and not at the same time. LOL..



As for money, I collected "star bills." These are bills that are printed wrong on the first print and, when they are re-printed, the letter is replaced by a star to symbolize that it is a reprint. They are not worth anything more than the face value on the bill. Most people have never noticed them even though they are in the general circulation.



Star bills always bring me great joy. This is such a thrill for me and I never knew when I might get one: in the club, change at the drive through, from the ATM.. When friends came across them, they set them aside to trade with me for normal bills. I saved my star bills for many years. At one point I had close to $10k worth. Unfortunately, I used them as collateral for a secured loan and the person spent them.   :(




Condoms are my other fun collection! I've always bought way more than could realistically be used. When I've needed to buy a pack, instead of one, I would buy 5 or 6 different types of boxes at the store. I am a shopaholic and so having a variety in the most intimate of purchases just makes sense to me!  :)



After purchasing, I would open the packages, put them in a big pile, mix them up, and then hide condoms all over the house. This way, if I ended up having a sexual experience, there would almost always be a condom within reach where ever we happened to be.. Since the bedroom was the most common place, I filled the nightstand drawer with them also. It was an extra thrill to see which color, style, and theme condom was randomly chosen. Just like with star bills, this collection added an additional oomph to a normal action.

My having such a selection of condoms was judged by the men I was with as me being promiscuous. In hindsight, it makes sense...but that was rarely the case. I've never cheated while in a committed relationship and my sex life usually comprised of either men I was dating or the one fuck buddy I would see whenever I was single. It didn't even occur to me that men would interpret my fun shopping experience that way. They never asked me about it (maybe they were just happy to get sex and didn't want to ruin it?) so I assumed they understood. Years later, I found out that at least one of them assumed I was a hooker. WHOA! Personally, I believe that what someone does with their body is their own business. At the same time, if these men assumed I was hooking while we were dating, it's no wonder they didn't take our time together as seriously as I did...

What am I collecting now? I still collect condoms, although I am currently single and have no sex life. I also collect DVDs. In a world of Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Youtube, they are not necessary...but they do make me happy, and that is all I expect from collecting.   :)