My wife and I have returned from our journey to the Midwest. Now I am back to the original routine of eating breakfast and typing the blog. The downside is that my Honey Combs are stale, no bonus points for my wife. Yes, that is correct; I blame even my stale cereal on her. Relax, she knows I am joking.
If you missed us the last couple days, I apologize. We have been in and out of airports and recovering from the time difference of the Midwest. But as promised, I am back. So many things to choose to write on, I will give my thoughts and experiences of the Midwest but not today.
At some point along this journey of life, people decide they are unhappy with their life and they want what they can’t have; therefore they go great lengths to get it. If you were out of town the past five days, here’s a short recap of what you missed. Former reality television show participants (Trading Spouses) six-year-old boy Falcon released a weather balloon off into the sky and for the majority of the day; everyone thought little Falcon was in it. (Yes, that’s his name; I couldn’t make this up if I tried.) Needless to say, when the balloon landed and no Falcon, everyone (media) went into a panic thinking he may of fell out or may not have been there at all. The truth comes out later that Falcon was hiding and this was a ploy to gain fame. It certainly worked; they are plastered across the television, magazines, internet, and newspapers. “Balloon Boy” is not alone in parents using their kids to receive fame. Octo-mom gained fame with children fresh out of the womb and inked a deal to be on a reality show; and then of course the most famous is Jon & Kate Plus Eight. The beginning of their reality deal marked the dismantlement of their happy marriage. They begin to tear each other apart; sarcastically at first but then purposefully, eventually forcing the eight to choose a side.
Do these parents not see what degradation they are causing their kids, to have everyone single moment of their lives on camera? I would become very volatile if I could never have a personal moment to myself. The better question is, did parenting go out the window for fame? Sadly to say, the answer is yes. Have they looked in the mirror lately to see if they still recognize themselves, is this what they sought out to be? Believe it or not, biblical times weren’t much different. I have been reading 1 Samuel in my quiet times and today I read 1 Samuel 18-20. For those familiar with the story of David and his father in-law Saul, there is no argument that he must have lost his mind. But what made him lose his mind? One word – jealousy. One can read about it through 1 Samuel hearing the chants of the crowd saying “Saul slayed thousands, David ten-thousands”. Saul at one point becomes so jealous, or tormented by a jealous spirit, that he tries to kill his son Jonathan for defending David. (1 Samuel 20:30-34).
What is it within us that wants what we can’t have? Why is it that we are willing to go to such great lengths to get it? Whether it is fame, money, power, or love, we often live vicariously through others always saying “If I only had _____, then I be happy.” Trust me friends, jealousy feeds more jealousy. If we continue to follow that pattern, in time we look in the mirror we won’t even recognize the figure before us.
Please leave thoughts, stories, and comments.
most of us would agree that our current paths are not what we had intended, maybe to some degree but certainly not that happy ending we had imagined. the path is full of potholes and the path is not always smooth. with age comes wisdom and the realitys of our lives. we often think we can do something without consequences also and unfortunately bad judgment also is a factor.
and to answer your question, there is a little bit of jealousy in us all.
I do things I shouldn’t quite often, I’m sure. I’ve decided it would be a whole lot easier to live “in theory.” When I’m laying in bed to go to sleep at night, I wonder why I’ve done some of the things I’ve done. Why did I make the decisions I made? A lot of the time I’ve made bad decisions when I didn’t have much time to think about them or when I let my emotions sway what I knew I should do. The examples you gave here, however, were not made on impulse. The people had time to react and chose to do selfish things. I don’t really have an explanation for this. I can only hope that I don’t do the same thing in my future.
Maddi, you were right that most of the decisions made by those were made premeditated. However i don’t think anyone ever tries to make decisions that will destroy their marriage. Take for instance Jon and Kate, do you think they would of started this public scrutiny if they knew that their love for each other and their commitment would be compromised. I think somewhere along this journey of life we start getting the “itch”. How come everyones life is looking better then mine, I work harder then them, and that’s plants the seed of jealousy. But i hope for your sake that you dont ever have that itch and will always be content with your life.
It’s shocking to me how people can be so bold and have so little concern for others. In regard to Balloon Boy, I cannot believe his parents demonstrated such a horrible example for him. They told him that it is okay to lie to the country and to abuse its resources. I can’t imagine wanting something so badly that I would manipulate people like that.
However, I know that in my past I have done things I’m not proud of to get what I want. That’s just human nature. I think that often people don’t really know what it is that they want, they just know that they want anything other than what they have. Why do you think it is that kids often misbehave just to get negative attention? They feel that any attention at all is better than nothing, even if it meanings being punished. The same was true with Balloon Boy and his family. They felt that negative publicity was better than none at all.