Less Comparing, More Celebrating

Today I am grateful for books full of recovery wisdom and suggestions. I am also grateful for songs that always stir my soul.

We each have our talents, our strengths, our comfort zones where we can really excel if we take that necessary leap of faith. And by leap of faith I mean believing in ourselves and in the wider world.

The comparing, competing, drive for perfection that consumes so many and is too prevalent on social media and elsewhere is futile. It is a slap in our own faces. I am enough, as is. You are enough, as is.
We are each enough and are here to make a difference in our own unique ways. 

Less comparing and competing, more celebrating. Please! Too many young people are disillusioned and giving up. Too many adults are comparing their insides to other people's outsides and coming up short. Too many are looking for quick fixes that don't exist. Hope exists and comes in the form of healthy actions. Such actions stem the tide of disillusion and set us back on a positive course.

Running out on a ball diamond or stepping up to a race's starting line are celebrations of life and opportunity that have mattered to me. Most of the pleasure of the game or the run stems from being out there. Let's not lose sight of that. The sun beating down, cheering your teammates on, the crack of the bat. The group gathered with nervous energy before the starting gun is fired, ready to share in a journey like none other.

Does winning add to the pleasure? Sure, but it is short-lived. If you truly love the game, the sport, the activity, it isn't about winning. It is about the celebration of engaged involvement, a celebration of being in a positive mix of humanity.

We are diminishing each other and ourselves with all of this comparing and competing. Let's stop the comparing and competing. Gratitude practice helps us find ample reasons to celebrate.