Some of us may be thinking that right now.
Camelot, the stuff dreams are made of.
Camelot, the mythical kingdom where the flowers always bloomed and the sun always shone. Perfection.
In that magical place no maiden ever felt a pang of distress for long because somehow, a brave knight always waited to rescue her--and just in time.
Ladies in elaborate gowns sipped tea and cakes--yet never had to boil or bake.
Never was heard an angry word and tranquility reigned, at least on the surface.
Ah, Camelot. Or if you prefer, Downton Abbey.
Either one will do--provided it comes with a downstairs staff and Mr. Carson.
The problem is, you and I live in the real world
With real people.
People we find hard to tolerate, not because they've harmed us but because, well, just because. Who needs more reason than that?
People with whom we may disagree. Strongly. Yet here we are living in the same world, maybe right next door to each other.
Business associates and political leaders--whoever they are--probably will let us down and we will chafe at them even being allowed to hold power of any kind.
On a personal level, sometimes even the best of us let each other down. Husbands fail wives and wives fail their husbands. Parents fail their children--and vice versa. Friends walk out of our lives and we don't know why.
All this is part of the human condition. If we expect any person in our lives to be perfect, it's a dream more elusive than Camelot.
And we set ourselves up to be disappointed because we human beings are, well, human. That is, flawed.
The trick is to stop looking "out there" and focus on what's good
Most of us can call to mind at least a few times we under-valued what we have. That's a waste. When we take it for granted we can forget we are blessed .
How we live, how we treat the people in our lives and the choices we make are within our control. That's true whoever we are and whatever our life situation.
Even if everything is stripped away, we still decide our outlook on life.
Will we keep a running list of what we lack or will we open our eyes to ways we are blessed?
It's our own four walls that spell home and warmth, not those stunning houses we see on HGTV.
It's the flesh-and-blood people in our lives who fill our hearts and give life meaning, not the "beautiful people" we may read about or admire on TV.
It's our own bodies and health we need to care for, whatever our shape or size and whatever the state of our health.
God gifts us with each day and that alone is reason to celebrate.
Perhaps it's time for a turnaround in our thinking
First comes the knowing. Then comes the will to appreciate who we are and what we have.
Can we change? Absolutely. We just need to take the Apostle Paul at his word.
[This is what the LORD says] "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" --Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! --2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
In Jesus Christ, we are new, with new eyes. And we can turn to him as long as there's breath in our bodies.
As for Camelot--or Downton Abbey--I'd love to visit sometime. But I wouldn't trade the joys and challenges of relating to real life and real people.
(Still, it would be nice to have a downstairs staff, don't you think?)
Blessings,
Lenore