comparing

In the last episode we had a quick look at the way the mind judges things, and in this episode we’ll talk a little about a related aspect of the ego mind, and that is its tendency to compare things. This is closely related to the judgemental mind. In fact, we can only judge things in a relative way, and that relativity is based on comparison.

The mind compares. It compares what is in the moment with something else, which is not. Perhaps it compares what is today with what was yesterday. Is today better or worse? Is today good and yesterday was bad? Or perhaps it’s the other way around… today is bad, but yesterday was good. From these comparisons come our judgements and our suffering.

Whilst we are living with a mind which likes to compare things, these comparisons will be happening all the time in every aspect of our life. We will be comparing the weather today with the way it was yesterday, or the way we would like it to be. We will be comparing our friends, one against the other: who do I like more? Who do I like less? Who is right and who is wrong? We will be comparing our lovers, completely unique individuals, incomparable, but our comparing mind will start putting them side by side and seeing who is the more beautiful, who is the more sexy, who is the more loving, the more intelligent.

This comparison allows the judgements, whereas if we stay with what is, there is nothing to compare it against. This moment is unique. It has never happened before, so how can we compare it against anything else? It will never happen again. This moment is unique. We can savour it as it is, but we can only taste it that way, we can only squeeze the juice out of the moment, if we do not compare it in any way with what has been, with what might be, with what could be, should be, with what we would like to be. These comparisons take us away from what is and they cause all sorts of misery.

So coming to our true nature also involves letting go of this tendency to be comparing all the time. Dropping the comparisons, we can see what is, as it is, undistorted. And we can rejoice in what is. We can celebrate with it. We can be part of what is. But only once we have gone beyond the comparing mind.