Happiness is comprised of many different elements, most of which we are still trying to discover. I may not know all the secrets yet, but what I am certain of is that comparison is the one thing that has the ability to take away our happiness. Comparing ourselves to others can make us jealous and greedy, but it also can make us less satisfied with who we are and what we do. Here’s an eye – opening story that explains this.
A crow lived in the forest and was absolutely satisfied with life. But one day he saw a swan. “The swan is so white”, he thought “… and I am so black. This swan must be the happiest bird in the world.”
He expressed his thoughts to the swan.
“Actually,” the swan replied, “I was felling the happiest bird in the world until I saw a parrot which has two colors. I now think the parrot is the happiest bird in creation.”
The crow then approached the parrot, the parrot explained….
“I lived a very happy life until I saw a peacock. I have only two colors, but the peacock has multiple colors.”
The crow then visited a peacock in the zoo and saw that hundreds of people had gathered to see him. After the people had left, the crow approached the peacock.
“Dear peacock,” the crow said, “You are so beautiful. Every day hundreds of people come to see you. When people see me, they immediately shoo me away. I think you are the happiest bird on the planet.”
The peacock replied, “I always thought that I was the most beautiful and happiest bird on the planet. But because of my beauty, I am entrapped in this zoo. I have examined this zoo very carefully, and I have realized that the crow is the only bird not kept in a cage. For the past few days I have been thinking that if I were a crow, I could happily roam anywhere.
This is often our problem too.
Sometimes we let comparisons bring us down, instead of valuing what God has given us. This all leads to the vicious cycle of unhappiness. Learn to be happy with what you have instead of looking at what you don’t have. There will always be someone who has more or less than you have. A person who is satisfied with what they have is the happiest person in the world.
