Is It Your Place or Your Palace?

This past week, we rented the movie “Princess and the Frog.” In the movie, the main character, Tiana, wants to start a restaurant called “Tiana’s Place.” About halfway into the movie, my youngest son, Korben, said, “Does she want to name the restaurant ‘Tiana’s Place’ or ‘Tiana’s Palace’ because they look kind of the same to me?”

I told him what she wanted to name the restaurant, but also explained that the two words do look a lot alike so it would be easy to get them confused. Then as I started thinking about it, I realized that the only difference between the two words was…

…the letter “A.”

Do you live in a “place” or a “palace?” Because the only difference is the letter “A,” and that “A” stands for “ATTITUDE.” If you view your home as your place, then that’s all it will ever be. You’ll do as little as you need to do to just get by and maintain the place. You’ll probably complain about your place, or maybe even neglect your place. If your home is your place, then you’ll probably just sit in it and keep hoping and longing for your palace.

But if your home is your palace, then you treat it as if royalty lives there (because that’s what you are). There won’t be clutter junking it up and it won’t be neglected. You’ll feel regal in your palace. You’ll have beautiful surroundings and a pleasant feeling in every room. You’ll treasure your palace and care for it dearly.

It all comes down to your attitude. Are you living in a place or a palace, because whether your home is a 500-square foot trailer or a 5000-square foot estate, it can be a place or a palace. I’ve been in tiny little homes that made me feel like a queen. And I’ve been in palatial mansions that made me feel like a pauper. A place is somewhere you want to escape FROM. A palace is somewhere you want to escape TO. It all comes down to your attitude. That’s the big “A,” and it’s all that matters.

~ Hannah