To take a walk underneath a canopy of trees, whether we are in the woods and there's a bunch of pine trees,

maybe we're in an orchard, so oodles of pears or oodles of apples, all of the same variety.

When we take a look at each tree individually, the branches, the bark on the tree trunk, the heights, we discover how unique in shape and structure,

every single one of those trees are, even though they are of the same varietal.

In my own garden, I have multiple trees of the same species, and each has different curves

and variations in their branches, stretching out

from the trunk at different angles, yet they are all of the same species. I appreciate them all.

Similarly, as humans, there are literally billions of us, and each of us has unique gifts,

beauty, and characteristics.

When we apply the skill of awareness to fully see either each tree individually or ourselves,

we set aside comparison and instead recognize the uniqueness

each of us has. To compare ourselves, our lives, and experiences to anyone else's is to reject

ourselves. And in so doing, we dismiss what is always there, our gifts, our uniqueness.

Interestingly enough, we are also rejecting the other person because we are only seeing what we

are capable of seeing and not the entire human being, their journey, their entire toolbox of gifts.

And this too is limited by what we are willing to see, not just what they are sharing.

Instead, we simply observe. So instead, simply observe, set aside any judgment,

which involves comparing, because observation is free

of judgment. And it is an act of mindfulness, demonstrating that we understand there is much

that cannot be known, and also to know that we too are unique.

This awareness brings us back to peace and deepens our appreciation,

simply by being aware,

...