“You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.”

Remember that poem made into a song?

You may not have since it was released as a record, spoken by Les Crane, in 1971 (see the video above).

Does Crane’s calm, still, strong voice speak to you?

I was drawn to the wisdom of “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”

The Gifts of Imperfection
I’m taking my first Oprah Life Class. I signed up after happening upon an interview of Brene Brown by Chase Jarvis, co-founder of one of my favorite creative resources, CreativeLive.com. I had already seen Brown on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday and his interview convinced me to sign up.

The 6 week e-course is called “Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection”.

It’s based on Brown’s New York Times bestseller, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. She shares ten guideposts to what she calls “wholehearted living,” which is about “engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness.”

I began at Part 2 of the course which covers the last five guideposts. Guidepost No. 6 is “Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison.”

We’re bombarded with comparisons every day. Buy this one, it’s stronger and better than that one.

I find the meat of the message of letting go of comparison on page 97: “Creativity, which is the expression of our originality, helps us stay mindful that what we bring to the world is completely original and cannot be compared.”

So next time Comparison roars its ugly head, boldly stay away from comparing yourself with yourself. Trust, as Max Ehrmann said, that “The Universe is unfolding as it should.”