On borrowing, among other things...

We have all lent things to people. Sometimes you get it back, sometimes you don't, and a lot of times, you really couldn't care less either way. Many times we admire something that belongs to someone else, even if we know it would never make sense in our lives.

Why is it that some people borrow these things anyway? I think it comes down to this: Some people can't stand not being the best/only one to have done something, and if someone outdoes them, they have to compete, keep up, even if that means that they take a flying leap out of their own life, and into someone else's. While a lot of times, this results in a funny anecdote about the "superstar" falling on their face, sometimes it becomes hurtful to the person they are trying to outdo. We all have to excel in some area or another, and it is unreasonable to expect that you will be able to excel at EVERYTHING. I believe, personally, that this is a self-defeating attitude, but one that is extremely difficult to observe in one's self, and as such, one which is nearly impossible to change. It grates, too, on the person who often finds them self as the target of this kind of behavior from one source. Bottom line: admire all you want, but don't try to force things into your own life where they don't fit. Borrow to step outside yourself, but not in competition.