It hits me again and again that life does not happen on a level playing field. When we compare ourselves with others, we just do not have all the information. And even if we have the information, we do not take it into account enough. Social media can make this worse. We all come into life with biological characteristics, we find ourselves embedded in a culture. We have particular parents or caretakers, some very loving, some very abusive, and most in between. So many life circumstances are beyond our control. Traumas, other people we are involved with, environmental disasters, economic assets. Each individual comes into the world as unique and inhabits a place in the world that is distinct. We each have gifts that are so different. Comparison so often gets in the way of our decision-making, for example our assessment of how we should be and what is best to do.
When we bite into a strawberry and want it to be a great orange, this gets in the way of enjoying the delicious strawberry taste. Each of us has a distinct flavor that needs to be appreciated for what it is, and each of us needs to be appreciated for who we are. Comparison can steal our joy. I am not going to let that happen to me today.