Poets on the Page: Poetry Prompt: Comparison

It is easy in this day and age to focus on a continual state of comparison - someone's high gloss life as seen through Instagram filters and Facebook likes has become our basis for how we see ourselves, the gauge for how well we are doing or more likely not doing. I am guilty of sleeping with my iPhone neatly tucked under my pillow. Oh sure, I claim it is my alarm clock but honestly it was the first thing I looked at when I woke (either with the alarm or when the witching hour leaves me restless). I counted likes as though they were the sheep who would lull me back into dreams.

Early one morning while I sat sipping tea and skimming through photos on Instagram, I happened upon a post that was if my daydream self had posted it - this woman was following through on things she had desired, was changing her life and inspiring others in the process. She was living the life she envisioned.
How was this possible? Inquiring minds wanted to know... so I contacted her.

*Image: The Universe Conspires Card by Julianne Kanzaki

Over the course of many months we formed a friendship, a kindred spirit connection that helped me see that comparisons and envy (FOMO much?) were only making me feel that I was less than.

A big thing we share in common is our mad passionate love of words - and with exactly that she gave me the perfect "antidote" to my paranoia.

Pronoia - it is the attitude or belief that the Universe is conspiring to help and assist you on your path. It is the opposite of paranoia.

I still browse the interwebs, bare witness to other's stories. But now when I am feeling a little more envious than inspired, I give it a place on the page and then let it go.

PROMPTS:

Describe a time when you compared yourself to someone else and felt "less than". Now describe the same situation but as someone whom you found inspiring and supportive. How would this shift your perspective?

Word Prompts:

Comparison

Identity

Schadenfreude

Mudita

Conspire

Transformation

Pronoia

Poetry book highlight:

the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Her-Flowers-Rupi-Kaur/dp/1449486797

Description from Amazon:

From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Ancestry and honoring one’s roots. Expatriation and rising up to find a home within yourself.

Divided into five chapters and illustrated by Kaur, the sun and her flowers is a journey of wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. A celebration of love in all its forms.

Review by Adrian Liang, The Amazon Book Review:

Kaur deftly sidesteps and then punts the stereotypical sophomore slump of bestselling authors, offering a subtle yet powerful volume of poetry to her readers who have clamored for more since the debut of Milk & Honey. Split into five movements—wilting, falling, rooting, rising, blooming—Kaur’s poems glide up from the depths of heartbreak and hurt to embrace the strength and joy that can flower on the other side of hardship. Kaur workshops many of her poems through live readings, and the dedication to her craft vibrates through every phrase. Those who pressed Milk & Honey into the hands of their friends will exult in The Sun and Her Flowers, and Kaur’s expanded wisdom and scope should reel in new readers who will find much that resonates. —Adrian Liang, The Amazon Book Review

Follow your words and share your link in the comments below:

Jenny Astramowicz resides in San Francisco where she works for the local university, trains for endurance events and writes. Her long term dream is to live in France with her two cats.