No. 022 · Fall decorating, comparison and overthinking · 2 min read
Apparently My Fall Decorations Needed a Performance Review
One beige pumpkin was doing perfectly fine before the internet got involved.
September arrived, and suddenly Amanda’s one beige ceramic pumpkin looked inadequate.
Yesterday, she loved it.
Today, Instagram had shown her porches covered in pumpkins, amber glass, candles, blankets, baskets, leaves, and homes that apparently had professional seasonal directors.
By noon, Amanda had visited three stores.
She decorated the living room.
Then rearranged it.
Too much?
She removed three pumpkins.
Too little?
Two came back.
Her husband walked in.
“Looks nice.”
Amanda stared at him. “Nice?”
“Very nice?”
“Are there too many pumpkins?”
He looked around. “I didn’t know there was a correct pumpkin ratio.”
Neither did Amanda.
Unfortunately, Pinterest apparently did.
By four o’clock, she was standing across the street inspecting her own porch when her neighbor walked by.
“Looks beautiful.”
“Do you think I used too many pumpkins?”
Her neighbor looked at them.
“They’re pumpkins.”
That evening, Amanda lit one candle and sat on the couch.
The pillows were not perfectly arranged. The mantle was probably failing something called visual layering.
But the room felt warm.
And the beige pumpkin looked perfectly fine again.
Grounding Thought
Sometimes trying too hard to make something beautiful is exactly what stops us from enjoying it.