Mirror, Mirror?!

Comparison.

Who is the fairest of them all?

We are so prone to comparison. Early childhood is rife with: "Your hair is prettier than mine," and "Your nose is more dainty than mine," or "Your writing is neater than mine." The external skin & accompanying accessories in full view and the sharp focus of freshly born eyes. 

Then there is adulthood. Should we not transition from these, most often, external comparisons to a pursuit of personal internal analysis? 

Internal vs. External 

Perhaps my nearly five decades, and that my vision now needs the addition of reading glasses, the 'outside' world has become less of a distraction, less of the target of my attentions. I'm still amazed anew that it takes decades to learn that which is of real significance and critical to one's health. The inside world always was, but has become to me, of far more import. 

Position vs. Possession

Then there are the external accoutrements, the haves, the acquirements, the needs, the stuff that is baggage. At first these travel accessories, like a set of Louis Vuitton cases, so strongly desired as a measure of arrival, of maturity, of perhaps 'adulthood' become through time a heaviness that is burdensome and tiring, dragging around behind us and hindering our perception and vision. The possessions that cause dis-ease and a shuffling gait, the external trappings mirroring the dis-ease internally, placating, suppressing, masking the need to work on inner health, the internal positioning of one's heart. 

Progression vs. Destination 

The drive for completion, the motivation of that endorphin rush that is the reward of a task accomplished, a goal attained, a milestone reached. But what about the journey? What about the moments, the fleeting enjoyments missed along the way because we were too busy with a pair of binoculars strapped to our face, yearning for the far off? The captured snippets of the day, the cobwebs cloaked in dew, the teetering steps of a toddler, the belly laughter at a funny facial expression, the delight of time in the kitchen with clouds of flour and messy aprons, the smell of fresh yeasty bread. These are life, these are breath, these are real, now, alive, full of health & vitality. Let go of the weight of the not yet, it will come. Pause, and choose within, to savor the now in all its fullness.