You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover

We have all heard this saying.  Sometimes we even hear it from the most judgmental people. Regardless of who says it, it is a very true saying.  We encounter different people every day.  We meet people who seem to have it all together and we do one of three things.  We either envy them or we find that we like them because they are happy and stress-free or we are jealous of them.  "They haven't been through what I've been though."

The truth is, there are a lot of people out there walking around with secrets.  Secrets from their past that they hold tightly because they want you to think they have it all together.  One of my favorite movies is Bride Wars.  There is a scene where Emma tells Liv that she doesn't have to have it all together all the time.  Nobody does and if you know some one who does they are either lying or just doing a very good job of covering it up.

We can't use our past as an excuse for why our lives haven't turned out the way we wanted.  That woman you encounter at your child's day care who is always happy and friendly and seems to have it all together--she has a very dark past that she had to work very hard to overcome.  Some days she sits and cries and feels weak and then she gets up, wipes away her tears, and forces a smile.  And, as they say, life goes on.

I am writing this little rant because this week I have encountered more than one person who just seem bitter because people they know are happy.  "If you had been through what I've been through then you'd understand."  This makes me smile and it always makes me want to say, "Try me."  Yes, I had a wonderful childhood filled with fond memories, but we all grow up and sometimes we don't make the best decisions and these decisions get us into trouble or worse--situations that we never imagined we'd find ourselves in.  It happens and it happens every day.  The difference is that some people choose to get up and take their lives back and CHOOSE to be happy while others choose to just wallow in the dirt and slime.

So, the next time you see that happy woman don't judge her and claim she is happy today because she has had an easy life.  Remember, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Whether or not your life has been easy is not the key to happiness.  You have to make a choice. So, what do you choose?  Are you going to be happy or continue being miserable and blame a hard past on that misery?

Something to think about, perhaps?
Yeah, that's what I'm here for. ;)