I saw PROPTuesday over at Janet’s and the topic intrigued me so I’m giving it a whirl.
Sir Walter Scott wrote:
Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!
I think that most of us practice some sort of deception, at least on some level. And often that deception is self-deception. ‘One more drink won’t hurt me‘ or ‘That mole isn’t really cancer, I’ll wait to see my doctor’ or the ever-popular ‘This relationship isn’t that bad‘. We often tell ourselves these things when deep down we know it’s not true. But if we can convince ourselves first, then maybe we can convince everyone else too.
I think the biggest self-deception that we try to sell to ourselves every day is that there’s plenty of time. We put off things, both good and bad, thinking that there’s always going to be a tomorrow. ‘I’ll get married when…’ ‘I’ll have kids when…’ ‘I’ll travel when I’m retired’ and my personal favorite, ‘I’ll be happy when x,y,z happens.’ Take those blinders off, stop the self-deception and live each day to its fullest potential. I want to live, really and truly live until the day I die. That day could be tomorrow and it could be 50 years from now. I don’t know. No one does.
Such true words. I wish I lived by them more often.
Thx for participating in PROMPTuesday! It’s good to meet you!
The self-deception of time .. too true. A nice little reflection of self-deception. You chose good examples!
Temple
PS – “PROMPT”, poor “M”
[...] Deception at Fleur De Lisa [...]
It took me a long time to realize that life doesn’t begin when I have the ‘x,y,z’ in place…life is NOW. And to realize that means to accept that sometimes you get latte foam on your nose, sometimes you feel like your body is an alien, and sometimes being alone is part of the journey.
In my experience, it also means that the day isn’t long enough to do everything. Some things need to be let go. It’s that balancing act of what isn’t worth worrying about and what is worth doing.
So, for me: let go of the House Beautiful ideal and focus on the creation of love and laughter enough to fill the rooms of the house.
My first husband was one of the “I’ll be happy when I have x,y,z” types. Always reminded me of the song Elusive Butterfly. He’s still waiting for the magic combination for happiness. My guess is that he’ll never find it and, along the way, he’s missed out on so much.
yup, exactly. I probably don’t have 50 years tho
Weird to think that!
You must be learning a lot form “The Last Lecture”. Is it good? I need to read it soon.
We all get so caught up in lifes daily routines we forget to live and just be happy and grateful. You are wise and insightful, so don’t stop blogging plus I just found you recently.