I was a disgruntled worker
Surrounded by disgruntled workers
Until life taught me
All fingers are not
And never will be
Equal.

Every human being deserves kindness and respect at the very least. We are not all the same; there are many distinguishing factors, depending on who is calibrating the scale. Your rating is different from others’ and from an employer’s no matter how you choose to see it. What we don’t realize is that when we condescend to this comparison game, things turn ugly and everybody loses!

We are the ones stuck with rotten resentment toward those we think are earning better, who have done nothing wrong, directly or indirectly to us. We feel bad with ourselves, we feel bad with the system we think is cheating us. How does that leave us? Definitely not striving to do better so we can make more. No! Unhealthy comparison and striving drag us into dark places we shouldn’t go and in the end, we lose the very thing we were crying that it wasn’t enough.

If you think the deal is not a good one, it’s not the employer’s problem – the door is open as far as they are concerned. It is even worse when they think they cut you a good deal because they know you’re going nowhere. And guess what? People don’t just walk away from a good deal no matter how disgruntled they grow from comparing their package with others. They remain and dig their own graves until the employer decides it’s time to bury them.

We not only lose the despised opportunity in our hands, so much more goes down with it; our integrity, respect, while meaningful relationships are charred in the flames of our quest for equality in an unideal world. Somebody needs to wake up. We need to tell ourselves the truth: life will not always be fair but we can choose to remain fair or to derail our course to deal with perceived unfairness. What we have is only as great as we value it. Unfortunately, we tend to value what others have better than ours until we lose it.

This is a huge lesson for us all because similar situations are playing out in our jobs, our homes and relationships. Never look down on what is in your hand, never thrash where you are because both are connected to where you end up next. It may not be the best but if you look around and quit comparing yourself with those who seem to be doing better or making more, you will realize that you are blessed right where you are, no matter how “Not-enough” it seems. It’s going to take a miracle for Jane to get back up to the very place she despised in order to go beyond it and miracles are not magic. Jussie’s life will not be the same for the next couple of years if not more. It’s happened to those we know and those we were told of and it will keep happening but do we have to fall into the same pits to learn?

Glory!