In a Pinterest Perfect World

In a Pinterest perfect world:

-My color coded closet is organized by workdays, so the matching hanger tags coordinate with the shoe shelves. The color palette is as soft as the lighting. The jewelry room is adjacent with walls of pegs and tiny cubbies.

-My pantry containers are the latest color and always filled to the top. I get a new Kitchen Aid every changing season to reflect the latest color trends. My spice jars auto fill to look their best for guests.

-I make all my beauty products and display them in vintage jars on my endless vanity counter.

-I awake to the best playlist, and head to my yoga studio in stylish apparel to inhale the inspirational quotes that fill my walls and Tshirts.

-And cook fabulously healthy meals in my skinniest jeans for the mancave inhabitant in the next room, reading his fave book on his fave device.

(Did I mention my cat videos? Completed scrapping projects? My kid clothing line from recycled milk jugs?)

Pinterest, oh, Pinterest, where did we go wrong? We've repinned, liked, commented, and longed for the lifestyle you've photographed for us. Gadgets, closets, rooms, cars, houses, pleasure craft, islands, continents, the universe. We see you in gorgeous hues, postcards from the other side of reality.

We can organize the clutter in our minds, repaint the ugliness that surfaces in our real worlds, motivate the fat and fear right out of our lives. Our boards are hip and wittily titled, (only postings that fit our image will do). Hmm, would the pin world judge us, or worse, unfollow, if we veered from our pin path.

Reality bites sometimes when we internalize the collective skill set of the cyber crowd. Suddenly our world seems singular and valueless. A never ending To Do list dominates our thoughts. And always there is failure because we simply can't ignore our daily roles for the new vision we uncover each day. Only in a Pinterest perfect world.

Of course, we love Pinterest! For the creativity, for the community spirit, for an easy way to aggregate interests. We also love it for the projects we'll never start and the places we'll never see. The uncluttered garage we envy and the recipes we'll never make. Virtual window shopping, laptop and latte in hand, safely tucked in our cluttered kitchens...

But there are times that it sucks the vitality from us when we cross the line into frustration and envy. As though, if we had that unique space or skill, we too, could feel like the colors that are pinned. Instead we feel disorganized and disillusioned, maybe even a bit jealous that our lives aren't being repinned. We long for the pretty pictures about us, the ones that show our universal ranking. That snapshot that signifies our worth. In a Pinterest Perfect world.

It's a similar envy that often follows Facebook users. A 2009 study found that feelings of jealousy increased as Facebook usage increased, particularly with women. It seems friends travel, laugh, exercise, dine out, and socialize more than us because we have a tendency to aggravate the information. We fail to recognize that most people don't post the mundane portions of their lives. (Seriously, when was the last time you posted a picture of laundry day?)

As we set off on a fresh course in 2013, it's healthy to recognize feelings of discontent, and upend them.We can set ambitious goals and revel in the pursuit, knowing failure and self-forgiveness are options.We can celebrate the bounty that we have, be it monetary, intellectual, creative, or a host of other gifts.

Beyond our Pinterest Perfect world.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson, before Pinterest;)