Desiderata blog 5
“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
OK, lovely people, I need to tell you that the above sentence, by far, runs most frequently through my head and comes out of my mouth more often than any other portion of the Desiderata. Hands down.
I need to remind myself of what is happening when I feel icky on either side of the spectrum. Too cocky? Oh, I’m comparing and coming out on top. Feeling fierce? I’m comparing and losing the game.
How often do you tell yourself (most likely not even true) that this or that person has a better or worse set of circumstances than you? And as the result, what’s the ensuing feeling?
How briefly satisfying is that vain/smug feeling? Interestingly, does the bitter feeling associated with seeing others as “better than you” last longer? Wow.
How about we do away with both ways of comparing? Since I grew up re-re-re-re reading the Desiderata, I’ve done my best to follow this suggestion throughout my life. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel envious or smug at times. I just don’t spend a lot of time there. Seems like a waste of time.
How about you? What can you do instead? I believe all of our time is best spent loving the people we care about the most, including ourselves, and letting the rest go...
