Some years ago I was Young Women President shepherding a group of very individualistic souls. One was a gregarious young woman, whose parents were divorced and mother was earning barely above minimum wage, whose life was filled with economic distress but whose character responded by stepping forward and grabbing life and people aggressively and shaking an opportunity out of them. The other was a quieter young woman whose parents both worked and whose financial life was secure, but who had had multiple surgeries on her legs, rendering her unable to play soccer or run (to her profound but quiet sadness) and whose circle of friends was small as she kept often to herself, eating alone in the cafeteria, walking alone in the halls at school. The former had a less settled family, and the latter a more spiritually-based focus.

One Sunday we were talking about trials and what we do to overcome them, and the second girl, who responded often out of duty rather than trust in class interactions, offered a comment. Suddenly the first girl burst out, “Your life is so EASY!”

The conversation that followed is unimportant for now. I’ve thought often how tempting it is to look at others and think exactly that.

• What life circumstances seem easy to you?
• What do you do when the human urge to compare comes up?
• How do you avoid dismissing the difficulty of others’ experiences?