Compassion Over Comparison

I’m generally not much of a crier, so it’s funny that this and the last post have both stemmed from me crying. I tend to bottle up my emotions (which I’m working on not doing), and sometimes during yoga, when I feel very vulnerable, the tears come uncontrollably.

I also tend to have a fairly good level of self confidence, but like any human, there are things I struggle with.

This morning in yoga class I was practicing next to a woman who seemingly had all the things I want that I don’t have: flexibility, the slim yet curvy “yoga body,” and she seemed very grounded and focused on what she was doing. At the beginning of class as I was looking around to see what everyone was doing around me, she had her eyes closed and seemed very focused.

At one point towards the end of class during a hip opening stretch, it sounded like she was crying. I wasn’t positive, but it definitely sounded like it.

As I listened to her quietly wipe tears and sniffle, I myself began to tear up uncontrollably and unexpectedly. At first I wasn’t even sure why.

I started to think about what prompted this response, and I realized that instead of thinking this woman had it all, I began to feel compassion for her.  This moment made me realize that you never know what other people are struggling with or going through.

Rather than assume that others have it all figured out just because they seemingly have something you don’t think you do, it’s important to realize that we are all humans, and we all have our own struggles and problems.

It’s definitely not easy, but I will continue to focus on feeling compassion for others rather than feeling envious or comparing myself to them.

A picture from a recent road trip with my brother in Northern California. Trinity Lake.