One Man's Treasure...

Family on Friday!!!

There are many versions of this week's tip.  My favorite goes something like "Never look down on another man's blessing."  Another popular way to say it is, "Don't laugh at another person's dreams.  It might be all they have."

They have different meanings, but they meet at a common point.  We should try not to feel superior when we see someone with clothes, cars, job, home, food, or the like, that we would rush to get rid of if they showed up in our garages.  It may be the best thing that ever happened to them.

We especially send a bad message when we do so in front of our families.  It validates bullying.  It can also create distance and distrust for family members to share their opinions or express their likes.

I know it's hard when you pass a car with more primer than paint, a floppy oversized spoiler, a sad sounding muffler, and twenty-two inch spinners.  Those kinds of things catch you off guard and you can't help but laugh.

That's okay.  Laugh.

What we don't need to do is follow it up with disparaging remarks or tirades regarding wastes of money.  Best thing to say in a situation like that would be along the lines of "I hope they're happy with that when it's finished," or "they really have been working hard on that."

I recently passed a Toyota Prius (Hybrid car, for any of you who just came out of a time capsule.  Half-gas, half-electric) with the license plate: GAS HOLE.  I laughed.  Hard.  But, then I became self-conscious about my fuel-efficient-but-not-as-fuel-efficient car.

My fight-back instinct wants to point out that I haven't seen a hybrid vehicle, or fully electric, that wasn't hideous.  My logical instinct wants to point out that if there were a desirable model on the market, I'm still a good two years away from having a chance to buy it.  My mediating instinct shuts everyone up by saying I have what's right for me now and so do to the Prius owners.

We can never truly know the situations in the lives of other people.  If we can remember that, more often than not, and curb our desire to kick someone we see on the ground, then our families can make a crucial step to helping others rather than judging.