My sister and I are very different people, so different you wouldn't believe we were siblings. However, with the amount of things we own that are similar, it's not uncommon to be a little perplexed... See my sister is one of those copy cat siblings.. Yes one of those annoying little ones who happens to do everything their older sibling does because they look up to them or something...? I have had to deal with it my entire life and though it irritated me senselessly, I have had to learn to embrace it and then discovered that I was always one of those... (but that's a story for another day)
Anyway, so after following me to Cape Town, we decided to live together and after a couple of years I decided it was time for me to get myself my very own first car and I was excited! I had waited so long to get it and after some complications, setbacks and a couple of thousands of rands spent on maintaining the car my parents had graciously given to me, I was officially an adult who owned an asset (although it is a rather expensive, money draining, unprofitable asset).
After seeing my beautiful car, my sister (as is the norm), wanted one too, but because she had been working a couple of years less than I had, I knew she wouldn't be getting one soon... i was wrong. 8 months later she managed to get a similar car just upgraded and in diesel. I was annoyed! Not only did she get to get a new car months after me, when it took me forever, but she could afford a better model and it was prettier - it just wasn't fair!! Regardless, I was determined to make the most of this lob-sided favouritism - when I got the chance, I was going to drive her car as much. i could, just to make myself feel better and I did and I learnt one of the most valuable lessons in contentment ever!
One of the ten commandments (in fact it's the tenth one) says that we should not covet our neighbour's things; i.e. do not be envious, i.e. be content with what you've got and the best way to do so is by being thankful. Yes, someone else will probably have something better and fancier than you, but what you have is what you need. It's what you're meant to have right now, it's made for you.
See my sister went away for a week and I used the opportunity to drive her car around... everywhere. In this time, the lesson I learnt was that even though her car was fancier and prettier and eco-friendlier and everything else under the sun (and boy did I enjoy driving it around), it just wasn't my car. It didn't drive like my car, it wasn't as light as my car, it wasn't as spacious as my car, it wasn't as techno-gadgety as my car and it wasn't as comfy as my car. I'm sure if I got to drive around with it a little longer I would eventually adapt to it, but in retrospect I was envious of my sister's newly acquired asset but to be honest, I had absolutely no reason to be, because what I have is the best - and it's the best for me!!
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