Recently, I met an acquaintance through a friend here in Berlin, and we discovered we were both from Canada. As we got to talking about our lives and how we ended up in Germany, I realized that I was being plainly judged. Comments like "how could you even afford that?" and "wow we clearly have different standards" were thrown at me like confetti. I was of course very uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going, but being an extremely non-confrontational Aries, I politely continued the conversation and then excused myself.
Thinking about it later, I realized how upsetting this whole situation was. I remember when I first immigrated to Canada - shopping for clothes at Value Village and not being able to afford a full meal at McDonald's - I was often so embarrassed about my finances and my supposed standard of life. And of course, people always made a point about commenting on those things. And now, fast forward almost twenty years, and I have to hear comments about the apparent opulence of my life. When do we ever come to a point in life where we have it right? Where we don't have too little, and where we don't spend too much?
