Comparison Chopping

We can’t help ourselves. We do it whether we want to or not. We compare ourselves to others of our kind. We usually do so with more than a drop of envy. As we elevate the other person to some sort of standard we think we should reach, we reduce ourselves to an inferior status. Our one unique and marvelously crafted self squelched. Wouldn’t we be better off if we could chop our tendency to compare out of our internal wiring?

Many would say yes. We might accept and even love ourselves more fully. We’d feel freer to be and to express ourselves. Appreciate others, sure. Pressure ourselves to be like them? Nah. So grab hold of that comparing eye, that envying heart, that assessing brain and snip, snip! Chop, chop! Just cut it out!

As if it were that simple a surgery! Well, let’s see if we can take another look at the act of comparison to discover if it has a positive side. We comparison shop for a vehicle, don’t we? We might compare day care options before enrolling our child in one. We likely compare cuts of meat at the grocery store before tossing one in our cart, don’t we? We do it regularly, this assessing business, this positioning of one beside another to compare their qualities and benefits. (I once knew a woman who did that with the two men she was dating before choosing the wealthier one to marry!). So stop the scissors, hold on to that cleaver, just lay down the scalpel! Comparing could be helpful if engaged in a healthy manner!

Let’s go one step further, shall we? Think for a moment: how is change brought about? We examine ourselves or our circumstances and we’re unhappy or disappointed with what we see. We envision something different, something new, something more vibrant for ourselves and, having compared the current reality to the potential reality, we go for it. We opt for change. We summon the strength, we corral the courage, and we veer off in the direction of the vision. Maybe just for ourselves, but perhaps for the sake of our family or the betterment of our community. We might even jump into some huge movement seeking to bring about change in a system we believe is no longer working for the wellbeing of the human beings it once sought to serve. We compare and dare to whittle away at what has rotted or throttled or turned in on itself. We labor for life as it could be. We see potential for change and, chop, chop, we get to it! Oh, the blessed side of comparison!