joy, peace & green smoothies

Hands up who has seen this quote making the rounds on social media in the last month or so?

Comparison is the act of looking at things to see how they are similar or different. There is nothing wrong with this per se until we start to compare people. And especially ourselves. The thing is that there will always be someone who's prettier, smarter, stronger, richer, funnier, etc than us! When we start to compare ourselves with other people (looking at how we are similar or different) we can begin to perceive that we fall short of the mark. And our perception, though it may not be true, feels like the truth.

The problem with comparison is that our attention shifts from what we can do to what we can't do, from who we are to who we are not. And it's in this process our joy is stolen and our peace is shaken. 

The reality is we are all running our own race. Comparing ourselves to other people will most likely paralyse us through fear and produce discontent within our hearts. What a steep price to pay! But if we keep our attention on the race that we are running, satisfied with the pace we choose to run and who we run with, then who can steal our joy and shake our peace?

Last year I blogged here about managing stress and anxiety through keeping calm, praying and practicing deep breathing. More than most people I understand how comparison can derail you. Comparison is a side effect of being a twin. Growing up, my twin sister and I were compared a lot. After awhile you start to compare yourself too. I would often wonder why so-and-so only talked to her even though I'd be standing right there (and vice versa). Am I not bubbly enough? smart enough? beautiful enough? Around the age of twenty we figured out these insecurities were not founded in the truth. So, we made a choice to stop comparing ourselves, rally together, and be the best friend to ourselves that we were to each other. 

Do you find that comparison is stealing your joy and shaking your peace?

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7, MSG).

Let's stop comparing ourselves and start celebrating what makes us all unique, one-of-a-kind and worthy of being loved. 

Just in case you haven't noticed I'm a huge Food Matters fan. Food Matters is an inspiring source of healthy info, including recipes, articles, films, books and more - just like this green pineapple smoothie recipe:

Quote for the Road…