Comparing your pain to others?

Sometimes if I’ve had a crap day I think, “Well, at least I’m not living in a tent in Haiti.” Or if I’m worried about cash flow, I’ll think, “Well at least I’m not taking beer cans back to the store… to get a refund… in order to make bus fare… to get to work… to get my paycheck.” (Like I used to.) And sometimes, when my heart is stressed I’ll think, “Better to have lost in love than…”

Sometimes pain comparison is an act of consciousness. It’s an empowering way to refine your thoughts and create your reality and practiced gratitude.

And sometimes…pain comparison only numbs out our truth. And when we numb out, we dumb down. We become less conscious, and less useful to those around us.

Denying your personal pain won’t lessen other people’s suffering. Weighing your little woes and your emotional strife on a global scale doesn’t necessarily make you a more responsible citizen.

Feel your stuff fully. It may be petty, it could be soul-tragic. But if you honor it, you serve us all.