Over-Simplifying, Because That’s What I Do Best

Okay, so the post title already warned you:  I’m about to whip out my “Over-Simplifying Hat” and pop it on my head.

Hat in place and we’re off…

At what point did our society become a Makeover Society? When did we all become Bob the Builders and Helper Wendys looking for something to fix?  Nothing wrong with wanting to help others - I’m a card-carrying member of the Save the World club.  But, somewhere along the way, far too many people have gotten carried away.

EXAMPLE 1.

My family and I went to a particular church for a while.  We came to love quite a few people there as they were our own family. When we first joined, we noticed that the church leaders were kind of “picky” about certain things.  Then the pickiness, which was nurtured and allowed to grow, did just that.  It grew into a pile of Overly Critical nonsense.  The type of nonsense that does anything but draw people in.

From The Cosby Show to ladies perfume (wish I were kidding), the church leaders left no stone unturned or unthrown.

The final straw?  A young, zealous to the point of foaming at the mouth, youth leader was ranting about something he’d found in a teenager’s room. I braced myself, with one eye on the young person hanging their head down in the front row - I was ready for the worst.  The outraged young man reached under the pulpit and pulled out a rolled up poster.  As he starts to unroll it, most of us can’t make up our minds if we want to look or not.  Mothers were shielding young eyes as I considered shielding my husbands….then, I look at the poster in all of it’s unrolled glory. It was a Lion’s King poster. Animated lions from a Walt Disney movie had caused all the furor.

My jaw never recovered from that drop.

THAT’S what you get when you make it your mission to police the world and everyone in it. Ultimately, you set out to find all the WRONGS and ultimately, you find them.  Then, like a hunter gone mad, you press on to find more WRONGS.  When that’s the only thing on your mind, ultimately you begin to see the bad in everything. Even animated movies. Ultimately, that’s what you want - finding wrongs to a Fault Finder is like Pac Man finding fruit:  BONUS POINTS, BABY!

Oh, one more ultimately - Ultimately, you end up looking like a buffoon.

Another example…not quite as outlandish…is the Health Nuts.  Just like most Church Leaders, Health Fanatics have something wonderful to share (I’m giving the edge here to the Church Leaders, though - for obvious reasons.) - better living, happier lives, and improved health.  Great stuff.

H-O-W-E-V-E-R, I’ve noticed a trend with some of these well-meaning men and women. At the rate they’re going, inside of a year there’ll be nothing left they’ll allow us to eat or drink other than green tea.  I have a great interest in healthy eating, so I subscribe to about 4 different newsletters.  In addition, there’s one I love that my husband forwards me as well.  Yes, there are some foods that are bad for us - foods that make our hearts and arteries incredibly unhappy.

But, come on….everything?  There are some of these people that I’d love to spy on in the grocery store.  Can you imagine what their cart must look like?  Carrot Juice, Green Tea, tomatoes, and…. I dunno, white turkey meat.  But they can’t grill it, of course - that, somewhere along the way became a no no.  Maybe they’ll boil it.  Yum.

Again, I know I’m over-simplifying - and I’m fully aware that we need to know about the baddies in life. I’m just saying that if you look hard enough for bad, you’ll find it. And if bad is all you ever look for, that’s all you’ll ever see - then, you’ll have your own Lion King Poster moment, and it isn’t pretty.

 I suppose if one looked long enough at Eva Longoria they’d find a flaw. But why would you want to? Personally, I think it’s a cool idea to look for the good things around us.  No, not to the point of grabbing an umbrealla and hopping from roof to roof in black stockings….unless, of course, you’re up to  it.

Remember, the world’s a pretty amazing place.  If you want it to be.