Have you ever felt jealous of someone else’s life? Have you ever felt like, no matter how much you have there is always someone else with more?

Well there is another side to that story. For every person who has more, there is also a person who has less.

I’ve been having a bunch of anti-Jones experiences lately.

Like when I spent many nights stressing about Ben’s party full of kids who all had social and emotional issues. Would it be a complete disaster to have them all in one room? Midway through the party a friend came with her kids and nephew. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought him, his father just died two weeks ago and we are watching him to give the mother some free time.”

I felt very small for worrying about whether or not the kids would have a good time at that point.

Last week I called the appliance guy to fix our stove and dishwasher. He wanted to know if anything was an emergency. Did he need to come over right away? I flashed back to living in China with no stove or dishwasher. Is it urgent? No, I answered. It’s all first world problems.

Life is all about perspective. It’s good to look up and strive for more, but don’t forget to look back and see how far you’ve come. Seeing the whole landscape is what keeps your feet on solid ground.