You Stink!

Perception is everything.  What we think is really all that matters.  No other opinion should have any weight in our daily lives.

That said, it is amazing how many things are subject to evaluation.  Virtually everything, from cars to food to people are vulnerable to the feelings of others.  But what do we think of how we look and what we do?  How do we come to personal conclusions?  What makes us acceptable to ourselves?

I was driving past McDonalds the other day and thinking about what they serve.  Their food may taste great but it has a reputation for not being particularly healthy.

Burgers and fries and sugary drinks are the staples and the world's leading fast food chain.  The celebrated Morgan Sprulock documentary "Super Size Me" exposed the weaknesses of dining at McDonalds.

McDonalds claims to serve nutritionally sound food including salad and chicken and juice.  But many suspect that the quality of their ingredients represent a minimum in every category.  I'm sure that if I ate what they suggest in the food groups that they now offer, I would be better off but I know very few people who go to McDonalds for salad.

We all go for the Quarter Pounders or the Big Macs or the new Angus burger.  We all love the fries. We all go for the Dollar Menu because we know that we can get our fix without taking out second mortgage.

But do the execs that run the company know how they are perceived in the marketplace?  Do they realize that they are seen as being at the low end in the categories of restaurants and employment.

Kids grow up hearing their parents say, "If you don't graduate you'll end up at McDonalds."

Walmart is approaching that same folk status but McDonalds holds the first prize for both burger sales and the job not to end up having.  "You want fries with that?" is a catch phrase when suggesting that someone's choices may be less than perfect.

But all of that begs the larger, sociological question.  Do any of us really know how we are perceived?  Do we look at ourselves in the mirror and say,  "Yeah, Man!  I have got it going on!"

Sure we do.  We don't see ourselves from the rear.  We don't see what others see.  We think our hair is perfect, the pants fit, the necktie is fashionable and the makeup makes us look 18.

Others see sagging bellies, drooping busts, bald spots, wrinkles and the old trying to look young.

We can only be truly happy if we accept ourselves for what we really are.  If we are fat so be it.  If we are old then that's what happened.  If we are not as attractive as the fashion magazines and Hollywood tell us we should be then that's the truth.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be attractive to many, and each other, but as the adage goes, "One man's treasure is another man's junk."

The folks that run McDonalds may know that the world makes fun of them but they are the ones who are laughing, proverbially, all the way to the bank.

As is Woody Allen, John Goodman, Bette Midler and Larry Bird.

Think about that the next time you get down on yourself for not living up to someone else's impossible standard.

And then go enjoy a Double Cheeseburger, large fries and a Coke.

MMMMMMMMM....they taste so good.

Don't they...