COMPARISON COMPULSION

Surefire way to feel miserable about yourself

Compare yourself to someone else

We perpetuate that pain with our communication

Our incessant addiction to competition

It’s not just fun and games anymore

Everyone’s keeping score

We’re all opponents in the human race

All trying to be “the best” and save face

Who’s the prettiest, smartest, strongest, gentlest?

If we decide that,  then there's gotta be

The ugliest, dumbest, weakest, meanest

I can’t help it, I’ll be a hypocrite just to say..

This way of living together is the stupidest!!

American culture of constant critique

Evaluate, rate, compare, compete

Comparison compulsion

Sustaining separation

Heart breaking division

Think I analyze too much, need to chill out, not make such a fuss?

Well I certainly don’t see it creating peace and happiness

Because we even compare who has suffered the most devastation

And decide who is most deserving of human compassion

We pretend that our experiences are so uniform and easily categorized

Ignore countless conditions and circumstances that make it so individualized

I agree that acknowledging the blessings we have that others do not

Increases our life’s appreciation

Gives us perspective and grows our compassion

However…

Everyone is worthy of love for the pain of their own

I have thunked A LOT about this..

I just can’t see how competition serves much of a purpose, but I don’t downplay achievement

There are so many other options to acknowledge and celebrate accomplishment

Celebrating people, places, things individually without comparative assessment

Some schools stopped standardized testing and rating for how it suppresses natural advancement

We can be encouraged to live up to our potential without pressure to outperform a classmate

And if we really treated our more formal competitions like actual games

Athletes under pressure to perform wouldn’t inject poison into their veins

Kids who fumbled the winning goal wouldn’t feel shame

If it really were, just a game

In a world where everything is turned into a chance to compete

Businesses treat employees like slaves to avoid defeat

Only measure success by how profitable in their market

What about making a meaningful contribution to society and giving a sh!t?!?!

Any idea how much less gossip, cat fights, and insecurity

If we weren’t obsessed with deciding who is pretty

And prettier

And prettiest

We’d all be BFF’s

If we weren’t so ridiculous

We are all gorgeous

Let’s get over it!!

And just learn to appreciate

Use our time wise and not rate

And really do we want to see another Bravado displayed bar fight

You are all man enough no matter how fat your wallet or your height

You don’t have to raise your voice to earn respect and prove you are right

It’s not weak or womanly, it’s just humanly to be considerate and polite

This planet pumped up on a patriarchal power trip really bites

Let’s even the scales and create a blended balance of divine delight

I know I’m asking us to rewire how we talk and delete years of programming

Not everyone is into it or up to it and I accept and will continue my translating

I will learn to express with more gentleness how I wish to be, without any expectation

The melody my rants screech off key is a desire to share soul feeling resonation

Anger covering despair that all this competitiveness is messing with potential connection

I feel this when something or someone is called “better” or “the best”

Or to our adjectives, we add an “er” or an “est”

Makes me wonder what you actually liked

I find those kinds of words vague and ambiguous,

All the “er” and “est” really say is that you judged and decided who or what is victorious

It seems expressing feelings and thoughts with words has become too tedious.

Although haven’t we been trying to have more time with all our conveniences?

So then maybe there would be some space to articulate and be expressive?

All this on and on and on about our words…..

It’s my driven desire to revive the Art of Communication

Add unimaginable depth to Human Connection

Utilize our ability to add alliteration to aid our articulation

Honor and unearth our untapped reservoirs of verbal creation

So we can share with one another

Understand more about each other

What makes us come alive?

What kind of pain have we survived?

What sets our souls on fire?

What fills us with passionate desire?

Instead of telling me what songs you think are the best

Would you share what you feel when you hear them, then I don’t have to guess?

We are both Humans that FEEL

Let’s connect over a Feeling

When have you felt…

Riveted, touched, anxious, concerned, depressed, inspired, enraged, scared?

We share so many Human Values

What meets your need for…

Connection, Understanding, Clarity, FUN, Play, Safety, Trust, LOVE, Beauty, Support, Pleasure

All this connection would replace the nonstop competition

Everyone’s contributions would warrant celebration

We’d all be encouraged to rise to the occasion

Share our uniquely special spark of creation

Of which there is no comprehensible way to even attempt a comparison

Our World would shine with

Communal Cooperative Co-creative Collaboration

We’d be a Unified

Friendly Family Fixated on Fascination