Eknath Easwaran’s Thought for the Day
June 25It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.
– Saint John of the Cross
Most of us cannot help comparing ourselves with others, at least now and then. In fact, this has become so entrenched today that in order to have self-esteem, it seems almost necessary to say, “I am better than he is, so I am good.” As long as we compete with each other and compare one with another, a certain amount of envy is inescapable. It is the very rare person who is completely free from jealousy.
But as our spiritual awareness grows, we will know that the Lord is present in everyone and that there is a uniqueness about everyone. The truly spiritual person never tries to compare himself or herself with others, or others among themselves. I have never been able to understand the compelling phrase, “keeping up with the Joneses.” It does not matter very much whether I keep up with Tom Jones or anybody else; what is important is to keep up with myself by making my today a little better than my yesterday.
We can keep this ideal before our eyes by not comparing ourselves to others, remembering that all of us have complete worth and value because the Lord is present in us.
2 comments:
i have this problem that i keep on comparing myself to others. i want to be better than them to feel confident but if i'm not i usually end up feeling sorry for myself. you're post was really helpful in making me realize that instead of looking at other i should concentrate more on me.there are so many people better or worse than me at things. just concentrate on the positives i guess.
I am glad you found it useful! Greetings from afar :)
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