Comparison

I’d like to continue a little on the burnout theme…and meld it with another one of my pet subjects, comparisons. One of the most exhausting things I see is how we compare ourselves to others. We look to see what others are wearing, buying, saying, reading, and where they are going…in work or in travel. We then look inwards and feel inadequate.

In these last few months, one of the most tiring things I felt was the re-immersion into the “rat race”. For a little while the soul was able to rest. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing in the stores and reading magazines again. But little by little I started noticing that I was feeling a bit of discontent. Why? Don’t I have everything I need and want? Oh, maybe I don’t. It would be nice if I could look like that person…why do I have such problem skin? Why don’t I love to work out and flaunt my perkiness in the latest craze, workout gear? Can’t I just wear the stuff and pretend I work out? It seems to be the trend of the moment. And why can’t I sound like that intellectual I so admire? Why doesn’t my home look like the one I visited yesterday? Not only does this constant comparing to others cause emotional burnout, it also takes us from what really matters.

What does really matter? Society has taught us that we need to compare ourselves to everyone else. There are the “haves” and “have nots”…and so many of us feel we are in the latter category. It brings discontent and depression. It brings strife into relationships and marriages. It makes us focus on the petty things and keeps us distracted from the big picture. We fill our time with things and activities that justify our being here on earth. We even “do good” so that we can feel better about the things we waste our time and money on. We learn the lingo that we can spout to others so to help them think we are on the right track.

But, deep down inside, we are not happy with our “stuff”…we either don’t have what we want, or look the way we want. There is a constant dialogue in our heads…the fight for peace of mind. We try to drown it with a some sort of reparation. We go to church more, we pray more, we give more…and for a short period of time, we feel a little bit better. But as time goes on, we fall back into the comparison game. Why does that person speak better? Why do they have God’s blessing in their lives, and I don’t? Why do they seem to be so close to God when my prayers hit the ceiling? I know the lingo as well as they do!

Well, I say we just GIVE UP!!! Give it all up and give it to God. He doesn’t EVER compare us to anyone else. He has given us each our unique gifts and talents. Maybe you don’t know what yours are, but they are still an ingrained part of you. Those people that we compare ourselves to have problems and insecurities, maybe they just hide them better. Let’s start admiring and encouraging those who don’t fit in! Maybe they have something we don’t have…peace of mind!