Comparison is the Death of Happiness

I've been on a bit of a Blogger-blackout.  Part of it is because we've been having wonderful family time.  Part of it is due to a lack of time and a pretty significant amount of stress.  But a lot of it was because of how I think when I spend a lot of time on the web.

I see cool things, ideas, tricks, and read about others' lives.  But then I compare my life to theirs.  In one little picture or a snippet of blog post, everything is beautiful, serene, calm, organized, and perfect.  And my anxiety starts a little flicker since my pictures never turn out that way - my life never looks that way.  But I'm sure that just out of view is the pile of stuff that was pushed aside, and that tablecloth is covering the fingerpaint and craft-related gouges in the kitchen table.  Even though I know that it's most likely an illusion, I still set myself up for impossible standards and disappointment.

 

A picture I would like to post online

 

What the camera shows when I back up

As we do every fall, we spent today at the Renaissance Festival.  *B* and I have been going since we were in high school, before we even met.  I met up with some friends there that I see about once a year.  They keep in touch on Facebook and on a forum.  I got many comments about the work I do around the home - making bread, making soap, all of the homesteading-type activities that I do.  I realized that, to them, I'm the person who does all of this amazingly impossible stuff that no one has time for.  I realized I need to appreciate what I'm able to do rather than worrying about what I can't.

So I'm back.  And, for once, sharing this blog with people I know in real life.