Comparisons..

Let me remember that each life must follow its own course, and that what happens to other people has absolutely nothing to do with what happens to me. Marjorie Holmes

Comparisons are irresistible but sneaky, obnoxious, and most often our self-torture of choice.
Today, let's focus on not coveting our neighbor's (or, more importantly, friend's) husband, figure, home, clothes, income, career, kids, life. Or anything else. Usually it's only one woman whose bounty of blessings (or so it appears to us) push our buttons of raging insecurity. I have one. You do too. Don't lie. We really don't care if the rest of the world has more than we have, we only care that SHE has (and we have not). Sometimes the subject of our hostility is not even personally known to us. But if she's one of your friends (my deepest sympathy) it's even more horrendous..because we must hear firsthand accounts of all that we are missing out on. (Just so you know...her life probably sucks. She is just a better liar than you.) Whoever she is, she's the devil in disguise, because you insist on measuring your life, success, bank account, and self worth against hers.
Obviously, I couldn't write about coveting, jealousy, envy, anger, and making oneself completely miserable with comparisons unless I was vaguely familiar. All right, intimately and painfully familiar. But these things are not good. This is not enlightenment. We are grown women. We are better than this. Aren't we?
Even if we aren't, comparisons hurt us in profound ways. They undermine our confidence. They shut down our flow of creative energy. They short circuit our brains. They deplete our self-esteem. They suck the life from our bones. Coveting destroys what is sacred within our hearts. Instead of comparing yourself to another woman, why not just beat yourself senseless? It's much easier (and a whole Hell of a lot faster) to recover from physical abuse than self inflicted psychic brutality.
My challenge..the next time we are tempted to compare our lives with another's, pause for a moment. Remind   yourself over and over and over that there is no competition on the spiritual plane. The blessings your nemesis has received also can be yours as soon as you are really ready to receive with an open heart all the good fortune created just for you.
And when will that be? As soon as you can bless the woman you secretly curse..as soon as you can give thanks for her happiness and success as much as your own. Because that demonstrates the abundance of your heart.
And just remember...blessings that we take for granted, that we abuse, that we mistreat, that we do not acknowledge and appreciate...those blessings are often taken from us. We would do well to love the lives (and people) we are given and let go of the ones we think we deserve.

XOX