When I was 12 I listened to the experts. I knew they were experts because they told me they were. They knew life’s secrets and I did not. One set of experts, popular in my time, helped me to grow luscious, strong fingernails. I started out with super soft, flaky nails that nail polish would rub off an hour post-application. Under their expert guidance, I dutifully swallowed daily doses of gelatin capsules. A handful in the morning (along with my Flintstone vitamin) and two more handfuls during the day. And I did this faithfully for six months. I am here today to attest that my nails are as crummy as they were when I was 12.
I watch a YouTube blogger who discusses how she manages her (and you can too) personal finances. One day she went off on a tangent, and I mean off-script. She was suddenly an expert on something near and dear to her: Hair Care. She has beautiful, straight, shiny, dark brown hair. To paraphrase her advice she began <The best thing you can do for your hair is to work the shampoo into a lather, let it sit on your hair, rinse, and re-lather with more shampoo.> Well, I’m not 12 anymore. I know better. My very curly hair cries out, “I’m dry!” I assure you, if I had followed her advice my hair would have broken off and fallen away, forcing me to become the lead singer of a rock band with a name similar to The Eurythmics.
My point is, before taking advice, learn about who you are and what you really need. I like working with my hands and it no longer mattes to me what my nails look like.
Expert Advice is not one-size-fits-all. In your individual life, you need certain things. You want certain things. Your wants and needs should fit into who you are. Wanting all the things that Mrs. Jones, next door, owns will cause you to be unhappy because you don’t have it all. If you beg, borrow, steal, or even cry and pout in order to get it, or them, you will make a discovery. Happiness does not come as part of the package. There will be hurt relationships and hurt pocketbooks along the way. I know I would be just as miserable with all that stuff as I would be without it. Unfortunately, most of us don’t listen to the experts on this one. We have to find out for ourselves.
In concentrating on what’s missing, I really am not facing myself, accepting the imperfections God gave me. If I had lovely nails, I would stop working with my hands in order to keep them beautiful. In doing that I would stop being fully me. Who knew that simple (over-priced) gelatin capsules would teach me such a valuable life lesson. Plus, I spent my hard-earned allowance on them. Also, it’s been fifty years and I still tend to pass over the buffet Jello salad, unless it has marshmallows. I love marshmallows. I seem to remember that marshmallows cause the memory to work better. Maybe I should eat more. I’ll check with the experts.
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