Yoga and Travel – Part 6 – Non Comparison

One of the main messages of a yoga practice is the idea of non comparison. Yoga teaches you to look inward, concentrate on your own abilities in the moment and to not compare where you are at to where others are at.
As I have mentioned travel has a way of making everything seem more stark, the highs feel higher and the lows feel lower.
I think it is really easy to fall into the trap of comparison when you are outside of your own life and comfort zone.  When you travel you are experiencing the fringes of another possible life. You see different types of dwellings, clothing, shopping, cars, roads, towns, etc. It is so easy to compare this possible life to the one you have.
You can wind up associating the natural feelings of freedom and adventure that come with being on vacation with these different possible lives. Which can in turn make you feel envious or jealous of the people leading their actual lives in these places. Or on the flip side, you can have a bad experience and associate those negative feelings with the lives of the people living in this new place. Which can lead to feelings of judgment and superiority.
It is okay to have these feelings, but it is important to remember where they are coming from and bring yourself back to that place of non comparison. The steps to bring yourself back are the same as they are in yoga practice. Recognize that you have these feelings, look inward at where you are at, take a deep breath and refocus on allowing yourself to enjoy the experiences from your own place and reality.
Or for example, recognize that you are on vacation and things are naturally going to feel differently. Look at yourself, where you are at and be okay with this. Take a deep breath and refocus on what you are seeing or experiencing without added judgment. It is okay to enjoy things that you don’t have, and it is okay for people to do things that you don’t understand. Everyone is different, and everyone is allowed to be themselves. These different lives that you covet or judge are not yours to have.
Enjoy these experiences for what they are. They are beautiful and magical, crazy and different, wild and scary. Take them all for what they are, don’t let your own biases and judgments get in the way of loving every min of them.
Love every moment, for all the good and the bad. For they will be short lived and soon you will be back home.
 
Questions

1. Have you ever found yourself judging or being jealousy of the lives you experience while you travel?
2. Have you found a good way to recognize them for what they are so you can fully enjoy your travel without being clouded by feelings of comparison.