A friend told me at breakfast today about her amazing charitable work in the world - it was global in scope and when she left I was tempted to compare it to my local daily life and find mine wanting. This is a very common theme for many people I see - how one's sense of worthiness can be internally challenged by news of other people's stories and events.

Lucky for me, another friend at the table and realized how I was feeling. He asked what it was that I did do with my time, and as I explained it, I was able to focus on the positive activities I do everyday but find easy to ignore.

It is so easy to compare oneself to others! I will never be able to keep up the globe-trotting pace of my friend, but what I do, including offering my support to her activities, affects many.

We all have a place in the interconnected web of life. It is our job, our dharma, to maintain our own thread of the web. Think of all the things you DO do in the world, not what someone else does, and you will feel a lot more comfortable with yourself.

Warmly, Cheryl Deaner, LMFT 36764