A Look Within

Are you living your own life or are you chasing someone elses?

Josh, my love, my constant philosopher, poised this question to me following Wednesday's post. Not so much about *my* actions in life but more about a question for all of us.

I don't know about you all but I know for sure I can struggle with this. I straddle the line of sharing too much and needing to keep some things for me. It's so easy these days with social media, to blur that line into nonexistence. Social media makes it especially easy to find yourself following in another's wake, trying to keep up. You paint this picture of the over sharer as having the perfect life, one that you wish to recreate for yourself. But you're only seeing what the over sharer wants you to see. You're not seeing their stumbles and struggles.

I also am very envious of other's achievements, as stated last week. I'm always very happy for and proud of my friends for reaching their goals, but a part of me yearns for the same goal of my own, which makes me jealous and bitter at times.

Life has become a rat race. Everyone trying to beat or meet the same timeline set by friends, colleagues, and family. It's easy to feel like you're in competition... life makes if out to be that way at times. From the second we're born, we're constantly being compared or doing the comparing of ourselves to our peers. No, this isn't some "snowflake" complaining of inequality, it's the desire to be measured only on my own abilities.

I think it best we remember the adage of needing to stop and smell the roses. There doesn't need to be a race, good things come in due time. Maybe don't always wait for those good things- they can take work. But who says a break to take in small moments is a bad thing?