Comparing

While living in Georgia for a few years, we made a couple of trips up to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. To be honest, at first, I was not all that impressed with the Smokies. Upon seeing them, I would always compare them with the Rocky Mountains that I had seen in Colorado. And I would immediately criticize what we found in North Carolina for being substandard to what we found hundreds of miles to the west.

That's unfortunate. I think it's probably part in our DNA, though. The need to compare things is probably what makes us human. But it also keeps us from enjoying, or at least appreciating, what we witness.

As you can see, the Smokies are quite amazing. The way they roll off into the fog in the distance makes them look like . . . well, like they disappear into the smoke (hence, the name).

The reality is that they are nothing like the Rocky Mountains. But then again, the Rockies are nothing like the Smokies. They are apples and oranges, both amazing, in and of themselves.

I realized this while hiking to the top of Grandfather Mountain, close to Boone, as seen in the picture above. We need to fight, or at least acknowledge, the instinct that is deep within each of us to be constantly comparing our surroundings with other things or with what we know best. The world is made up of lots of amazing things, each different and unique from each other. We need not always compare them. We would be better off to take in and enjoy what is in front of us for what it is.