Caught Up!

People are really caught up in the appearances of it all. 

Just the other day, my friend that I’ve known, more than half my life,  made a comment that threw me for a loop!

We had just walked past  Owen Wilson in a coffee shop–I made eye contact and he said hello (this is about the 3rd time I’ve seen him and he has seen me out and about in Malibu).  My friend and I  had these fantasies that he was actually interested in chatting with us further and that perhaps he kept his eye on us as we left.  Ha!

Anyway, as we approached my car (my 14-year-old car with peeling paint), she stopped short and said, “wait, I can’t let him see me.”  I wasn’t sure what she meant and it took me a minute to figure it out–she was embarrassed to get in my car!

Wow, gosh, golly and gee–I thought I knew this friend!

I don’t know, who wants to be with someone, anyone, who judges us by the car we drive?  It just seems so foreign to me these days.  BUT, sadly, it is truly the norm.

Yes, it might be nice to get into my brand new chocolate-brown Tesla, but I can assure you, it won’t change who I am.  If someone chooses not to associate with me because I drive a 14-year-old car,  I wouldn’t want them in my life anyway.

What a thrill I had when I read this quote by Owen Wilson:

“I don’t like caring what other people think, but I do. There’s a freedom when you meet someone who doesn’t care, who is just themselves in all situations.  To just be yourself, and not try to sell anything, or make a good impression, that’s something worth striving towards.”

I will continue to strive.