"The art of being wise is
knowing what to overlook." -William James
I can't help but think that William
James came up with this quote so that his wife wouldn't yell at him about
leaving his socks on the floor...
Every woman that I know struggles
with ignoring the mess left around the house by the men in their lives. Based
on what I witnessed on television with the destruction of Kim Kardashian's celebrity women struggle with it too. How do the sexes
who love one another so much at night peacefully coexist when the sun comes up?
The battle of the sexes is real. And
if you let it, fighting about clutter will destroy all of the things you love
about the relationship.
Watching
the last season of “Kim and Kourtney in New York”was educational. Along with
the rest of the country I was able to witness the unraveling of Kim
Kardashian’s marriage. It played out like a badly written sitcom. One big point
of contention for them was Kris Humphries approach to household chores. Based
on what they portrayed, he was sloppy and picked up after himself in
frequently. All of the mess got on Kim’s last nerve. Sometimes she tried to
suck it up or ignore it. However, most of the time she simply asked him to pick
up his things. It was as if she could only see his mistakes.
I
know that I succumb to that sort of thing more than I would like. I get really
annoyed about socks on the floor, accumulating laundry and the unmade bed that
greets me whenever Andre is the last one to rise. I also get frustrated when Andre
goes to the grocery store and returns with charcoal and his hair gel and forgets that we need things like diapers and Yo
Baby yogurt. I can’t help but think that
doesn’t he live here too?
I
spoke to a friend of mine who’s been married forty years and she told me the
secret to marital bliss. And it sounded a lot like Mr. James’ advice.
She said
that she’s been married so long because she manages her expectations. Her husband
is a successful businessman, but seems to be fairly inept around the house. He
doesn’t follow her instructions about house cleaning. He fails to bring back
the exact things she requests at the store. And he never thinks about things
they may need when he’s out and about. However, he is charming, loving, and
takes great care of her when she’s sick. He also makes great food on the grill!
She
told me that she chooses to overlook his shortcomings and focuses on his
strengths. It strikes me that this is
not only wise, but it is loving.
Here’s
hoping that I gain more wisdom every day!
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