X-Ray Vision

With all these super-hero movies out at the theaters lately, I started thinking about the super powers they have and whether they’d be useful in real life.

Leaping tall buildings?  I haven’t been in a situation yet where that would help…

Turning into a muscle-bound green Hulk?  That could cost me a fortune in clothes, plus green is not one of my favorite colors…

Invisibility?  I could almost go for this one on those “leave me alone” days…

X-ray vision?  Ah, now here’s one I could get used to! 

But not the x-ray vision that would let me see through someone’s clothes (except maybe Jon Bon Jovi, Omar Epps, or Daryl from The Walking Dead!).  

 

I mean the kind that would let me see behind people’s facades to see what they are really thinking.

Sometimes it almost seems like I do have this super power.  Someone makes a statement to me that contains kind words, but the tone of voice or facial expression reveals something that’s definitely unkind.

For example, “That outfit looks so good on her!”, spoken with rolling eyes or a smirk.  “Haven’t they got a gorgeous house?” spiced with jealousy.  “I wonder what’s going on in that family?” asked in a way that’s more nosy than concerned.

I have to point the finger at myself on these, too.  I’m just as guilty of MAKING these kinds of statements as I am of interpreting them from others. 

My point is, a lot of times our insides (what we believe or feel) don’t match our outsides (what we say or do).

Here goes some transparency on my part, but I promised to be honest on these blog entries!

-           I SAY that we need to save money and cut back on our spending; but I DO go and buy another purse.

-           I SAY that I am trying to eat healthier; but I DO grab a fast-food lunch or a junk-food snack.

-           I SAY that I’m organized; but I DO lose important papers and forget appointments until the last minute.

See how it works?  If someone could look at me with that x-ray vision, they’d see a big contradiction in a lot of areas.  That’s pretty bad news to me.  I don’t want people to have to wonder about my motives or my authenticity when I say something.  I don’t want people to say things like, “I thought you were … (cutting back, dieting, a Christian, etc.)” when my actions don’t match my projected persona.

So I have work to do in this area.  Tough work, since a lot of the things I do have become habits or NTR’s (No Thought Required).  I want people to be able to look at my outside and know that it jives with my inside, whether they have that x-ray vision or not!

Once I achieve that, maybe I’ll look into that “leaping tall buildings” thing…  :-)