Sunday, March 13, 2011

Comparison


Greetings, everyone!
Well, I think spring is about to spring in most areas of the country. Here in Florida, a friend remarked today that getting into my warm car reminded her of how hot it will soon be here. When I think of those of you who have experienced a very harsh winter, I find no reason to complain about the heat coming our way - I was fortunate to not have to shovel the chilly nights we got and that makes up for it in my book.

Speaking of which, have you ever found yourself comparing something in your life to someone else's life? I'll bet you have - I think all of us have done that at one time or another.

I recently read a note I had made several years ago while listening to my pastor in Ohio. He commented, "Comparison breeds discontent."

OUCH!!

But he's really right in so many cases, isn't he? How often do we think about how lucky we are compared to someone else? I think it's usually the other way around, isn't it? And I believe we are all lucky in some sense. For instance, I don't think I have any readers from Japan, but those of us who do not live there can certainly compare our week to theirs and consider ourselves lucky.
You'll notice an unusual picture with this posting. This is the interior of the hyperbaric chamber that my husband, Guy, experienced for 2 hours every week day for 6 weeks a couple of years ago to promote healing after the oral surgeon broke his jaw pulling an impacted wisdom tooth and they had to wire his jaws shut for 10 weeks (the bones in that area are very fragile due to the 62 radiation treatments he had for tongue cancer in 2007).
Considering Guy has a bit of claustrophobia, it was no mean feat that he managed to complete the entire course of treatment, especially the day he had to share the chamber with a very large man who was reacting violently to being in the chamber - kicking out with his foot very near Guy's face! Anyway... we were so, so fortunate ~ not that he had the broken jaw, of course, but that we found this hyperbaric chamber about an hour away. In this chamber, Guy could sit up; in others you have to lie down with a "lid" closed over you as if you are in a coffin ~ doesn't sound too appealing, eh? So, comparison was good for us that time around!

When I was thinking about that word ~ comparison ~ so many areas of life popped into my head: weight, finances, house, health, car, clothes, family, appearance, hair, relationships, job, retirement, weather, pay scale, abilities, skills, experiences, talents, education ~ YIKES! It's scary to think that "comparison" can bring up that many thoughts so quickly!

So here's my challenge for you [don't you hate it when I do that?? :-)]... for the next 30 days ~ yes, I said 30 days! ~ I want you to find things in your life that you can "compare" to someone else's and realize how lucky you are.
Can you do it? I think you can! Use my list of "comparison areas" above to get you started.

And let me know how you do!
Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com