Grass is greener where it is watered

The grass is greener where you water it.

~ Neil Barringham

In the world of Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, where people present curated and edited versions of themselves, it is easy to perceive others' lives at home as more desirable than our own.

Is the grass greener on the other side?

Recently, a popular podcaster who surrounds himself with highly successful people expressed with humility how dysfunctional some aspects of their lives can be. Regrets of failing their children are common. 

At a luxury resort where a biotech pharmaceutical conference was taking place and highly affluent young families gathered, I was saddened to see parents feeding their children junk food. I realize that on vacation, sometimes you have to bless it and let it go. However, these parents seemed completely unaware of the long-term consequences of their dietary preferences. I mistakenly assumed they knew better.

We become what we prioritize

What you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny.

~ Robin S. Sharma

Do you recall being so focused on a project that nothing else mattered? You’re in the zone. Time flies. You forget to eat. You forget that you have loved ones at home.

What we habitually do and pay attention to shapes our reality.

Pessimistic as it may sound, under current circumstances, we can’t have it all.

While we may be providing a desirable service or product to the world, we may not have the ability or know-how to provide healthy food and model good lifestyle habits and behaviour to our children.

Now imagine both parents having to prioritize their work. Then we must trust that our food quality and safety regulatory agencies ensure a healthy food supply. Unfortunately, they have failed us.

Canadians and Americans consume roughly half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods which increase the risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, and premature death.

Those of us who focus on prevention, continue to hope that, despite some of the credibility having been lost, the quest to Make America Healthy Again becomes a reality that reverberates throughout the world. 

Seeds of hope were planted.

The grass will only become greener where we water it.