Compared to what?

A friend recently said, “I think this is good, but I don’t really know. I don’t have anything to compare it to.”

This happens sometimes. Along with observing, we seek comparison. We have a general sense of something’s worth, but then we begin to second-guess ourselves. “Is there something better? Am I foolish for liking this?”

The harder (but important) thing to do is to see what’s in front of us, to evaluate it based on its purpose, or our needs, or our wants … and — provided it fits — to stop looking for the thing that’s just a little better.

If we judge a thing as good and sufficient, let it be so. We don’t need to torture ourselves with comparison.