I got on the internet this afternoon to look for the source of a saying I shared in a church conversation today. "Oh, can I quote you on that?" my bishop asked. "Well, it was actually said by someone else first ... one of the Roosevelts ... FDR maybe? ... or was it Winston Churchill?" I asked in response. "I'll find out."
So I got onto the computer for that task, but first I looked up the name of a childhood acquaintance, because she was on my mind. The web had much to offer about her accomplishments, peppered with glamorous pictures and interviews that showcased her wit. I read her Twitter feed and found her fascinating. This got me thinking about other people I knew long ago -- did they also have impressive resumes I could unearth? They did, and I found them. I am happy for their successes, really I am, but all this made me feel a little wistful that not only have I not accomplished what they have, I never considered it. On another day I could say I'm living my dream of raising children, but today this exercise peering into others' lives made me question if my dreams, too, weren't up to snuff.
When I got up from the computer to do something -- please, anything -- else, I remembered my original purpose in sitting at the keyboard. By golly, that Theodore Roosevelt had it right. "Comparison is the thief of joy."
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