The grass over on the other side of the fence

Companies make stuff and want us to buy more of it. So they make ads. We need it. We deserve it.

It will make us happy. Don’t we all deserve to be happy? It makes one wonder whether subliminally we are being taught that we can have our cake and eat it. Which of course we can’t, and having this sort of view will make one disappointed in so many ways.

Some things in life are just a zero sum game. We only have only so much we can spend so if we want some things, we deprive ourselves of others. Unless one wants to go into a great deal of debt that is. We all only have 24 hours a day to do things. So if we choose certain activities, we need to be realistic that we won’t time for others.

So some people choose not to become parents. Why not? Having kids is expensive, extremely time consuming, and emotionally exhausting. By not having children, a great deal of resources are then available for many other activities that can also bring great satisfaction. Anyway, it is a free country and people can choose the life they want.

Interestingly, in an ABC article, it would appear some people do make the choice to be childless, but then experience anxiety about their decision. “On the one hand they can see themselves being happy in life without kids. On the other hand, they're worried they're making the wrong decision,” says Healthy Mind Project psychologist Talya Rabinovitz.

It probably just is human nature to look at the grass on the other side of the fence and wonder if it would be greener.

When Jesus calls people to follow him, he calls us to surrender all. To give up our hopes, our dreams, to use all our talents and abilities for his mission (Matthew 16:24). This is what it means to trust in Jesus, to put our future in his hands believing that it is best for us. Even when the grass on the other side may seem greener sometimes.