Comparison Shopping

Sometimes comparing one thing to another is beneficial. Like when you shop for the best price on a camera, search for the best vacation resort for Spring Break, or try on pair of jeans after pair of jeans to find the pair that makes your backside look bodacious. Several websites are devoted to comparing fares, reviews, destinations, schedules and services and, thanks to my incessant need to make the very best decision in every instance, I rarely make a purchase without consulting a few of my favorites. I'm a fan of 99% of comparisons made in the world. Unless it's a case of me comparing myself to someone else. Then we have a problem.

My wise-beyond-her-years friend Mary, who is so timely with her thought-provoking Facebook statuses as of late, posted a quote today that I can't get out of my head. It said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." Wow. If only I had this in my pocket for a recent dinner with friends when I allowed my joy to be stolen.

When the conversation turned to new adventures and accomplishments everyone had coming in the next few months, rather than share in their excitement, I immediately wallowed in the fact that I had nothing of interest to contribute. No babies being born, no degree programs finished, no new places to live. As I sat there and compared myself to these amazing women, I couldn't find any joy. Not in myself. Not in their excitement. Instead I found more things about which to compare myself. She's skinnier than I am. She's more educated than I am. She's more ambitious. She's more daring. She's more loved.

My ego reared her ugly mug pulling me into the depths of self-loathing and the more I compared myself to my companions, the more ridiculous the comparisons became until I left dinner feeling like a useless piece of you-know-what.

If only I had my trusty new mantra in my pocket. "Comparison is the thief of joy." Right on. So I told my ego to stuff it because while I may not have a shiny new engagement ring or an awesome new job, I have a lot to offer this world!