Why are we so prone to compare?

Comparison is the thief of joy, after all. So what's with all the comparing?

It may be biological — we seek to know our place in the hierarchy. How can we know where in social food chain we land if not by comparison?

These days our comparisons go far beyond our tribe. The comparisons are scoped to the world, anything viewable by internet.

There's a short-circuiting going on. The scope is too large, and the comparisons inevitably land us in a place of lack.

But this cannot be a post-internet phenomenon. Comparison's path to unhappiness has roots beyond the digital.

Is it just a test? Do we need to unlearn comparison? Ignore our findings when we do compare? Or simply accept the comparisons?

I imagine comparisons are the realm of the past and future. Comparisons pull us from the present. Perhaps the present moment, experiencing what is and not what could be or what someone else has, could be the antidote.

That antidote isn't a pill though. Staying present isn't as easy as a drug. There's work to it. Practice. Focus. Patience. Persistence.

The present moment demands much of us. Comparison drains more. I'll take the present.