Counterfeits

If I were to offer you a choice between a $20 bill and a photo copy of one, which would you take? No question, you would want the real thing. What if the choice were between a genuine $20 bill and the photo copy of a larger bill, say one hundred smackers. Are you interested in the photo copy? Of course not.

Did you know it is illegal to make a color copy of any denomination of money, unless it is larger, smaller, or a different color than the real thing. There is a huge difference in the appearance of photo copied money and the real thing, yet there are laws protecting us from the confusion that arises from having realistic copies around.

Sometimes we are tempted to pretend. We want to make a good impression. We want to be liked. We want to be accepted. We aren't sure that people will like us the way we are, so we pretend to be different. I'm all for self-improvement, but not so much for pretending.

Pretending is exhausting and unfulfilling. There are easier games to play. You can't pay your mortgage with Monopoly Money.

If we can love ourselves and be comfortable in our own skin, then we will always be okay around others. Everyone loves the real thing, so be yourself, that's the one thing no else can be.

Isn't it time we start loving ourselves?

Linda Garner