There’s the old cliché, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence” that tells us not to compare. The reality is that the grass is greener over there because they put in the work to keep it that way. Watering, fertilizing, mowing. Whatever it takes for a great lawn.

Too often, we look at others’ situations and wonder ‘what if’ and ‘why don’t I have that”. We then assign all kinds of causes to our plight. The most common is blaming other people, circumstances, or just bad luck. Sometimes there are external factors; very often, the primary cause is us.

Relationships are fragile and require attention and nurturing. The moment we stop tending to them or take them for granted, they begin to wither. The decline happens slowly at first and often goes unnoticed in the early stages. There are those subtle signs, but in the hectic pace of the day, we overlook them. And the grass turns duller.

We spend hours lamenting and kvetching about the situation. It takes time and energy to complain. Time and energy that ought to be used to take care of the grass, of the relationship.