Room for Improvement

It’s Two Cents Tuesday…

According to most magazine covers, they have all the answers.  At least that’s what I discovered at the local newsstand.

I like to plant myself in front of the racks and scan the colorful glossy’s.  From Cosmopolitan to Self, InStyle to Real Simple, we are bombarded by headlines declaring that we don’t measure up.

Thin Thighs in 5 Minutes

10 Ways to Update Your Wardrobe

How to Please Your Man from Morning to Night

Give Gifts That They’ll Remember

I can’t help but be drawn in.  Who wouldn’t want thinner thighs in just 5 minutes?  Wow, can it be that simple?  Have I been exercising 5 days a week the past year for naught?

It appears these periodicals have the answers to life’s biggest problems.  Perhaps they should tackle the substantial topics, the truly important questions – Is there Life after Death? What is True Love? Is Elvis Still Alive?

Instead, we’re told that we’re borderline inadequate.  Whatever state we’re in – financially, personally or professionally – just isn’t good enough.  After all, isn’t there always room for improvement?

Yes – could we all learn to use our time more wisely – of course.  Couldn’t we all try to be a bit more patient in times of stress – I believe so.  Shouldn’t our closets be a little less cluttered?  I suppose.  But why can’t our lives, no matter what state they currently reside in, be plain old good enough?   Like toast and jam, aren’t our lives complete in their simplicity?  Or do they need to be overloaded with an unending parade of condiments, muddling up their flavor?

My thighs may not be perfect but 5 minutes a day will never make them Heidi Klum’s thighs.  Don’t lead me down the primrose path of perfection only to abandon me in a maze of thorns.  It’s hard enough to maintain my mini vial of self-esteem without some glistening, airbrushed magazine beauty telling me that I need a bigger cup.

As I’ve discussed before, the self-help section of any bookstore is injury enough, causing many of us to wonder how we ever get through the day.  There’s a book for every human suffering.  Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, we have found that in freeing ourselves from the demands of physical survival that we have burdened ourselves with idle minds malady.  We now have enough time on our hands to fret about the fact that our lipstick doesn’t have enough staying power.  That our financial portfolios are lacking.  Or that our behinds are just a little too large.

When are any of us good enough?  When do we declare that our laundry detergent just doesn’t need to be new and improved?

Today’s the day.

How about one last article for the proverbial road entitled “Kicking the Perfect Habit: 7 Ways to Let Yourself Go.”  I feel better already.