Questioning Comparison

Hello friends,

"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lately I've been thinking about comparison. Us as human beings naturally if not ritualistically compare ourselves to everyone.  Whether the comparison is between our jobs, families, significant others, relationships, possessions, religions, morals, actions, etc. We get wedged between "Am I as accomplished as this person?" or "Could my life be better?" or "I have to fix this because that person's is like that" or "Wow, so and so should be more like me." Vague questions I know, but take into consideration the vagueness of comparison. No two individuals were born to be exactly alike. No matter the area of life you set your eyes upon, there will always be differing characteristics and circumstances.

Comparison is simple.
Comparison is easy.
Comparison is addicting.
Comparison sucks us in and distorts our minds into thinking we need to change.

This past week, I allowed countless comparisons to steal my time. I compare my faith, relationship, what it means to love, grades, wealth, and fitness. The only lesson I learn amounts to additional confusion and questioning. At this point separation of reality and fantasy is blurred into a Tetris game circa 1984. Building upon blocks and unable to tear apart the hinges. Leaving gaps of nothingness as a result. I do not want to live in fantasy. Comparison allows me to live in a fantasy dreaming of changes that will never take place. I dream of differences because I believe they will better my life. Reality screams back, the fact of the matter is if I remain in fantasy no changes will occur.

I am physically and emotionally tired of comparing the past and the possible future to this moment in time. My time on earth fails in comparison to where I hope to spend Eternity. What lies inside of me is yet to be discovered. We all have the ability to accomplish more. My accomplishments will fail in comparison to my fantasies.  Reality will trump. I will beat this game of Tetris, allowing doubts to dissolve with every block. Next time a thought of comparison comes to your mind simply ask yourself if it is fair. Is it fair to yourself? Is it fair to the thing your are comparing? Is it fair to the person you are comparing? I'm going to save you some time, IT ISN'T FAIR.

Next time you compare your life, wealth, religion, relationships,etc. (no matter the truth that may exist) remember we were all "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Stay Joyful,
Jess

Enjoy a picture of Luna and I :)

 

Thank you for supporting I Run for Water

Hello friends, 
      I have exciting news about the I Run for Water fundraiser I have only been a part of for 23 days.  Tagged onto my Christmas wish list this year other than toothbrush heads and socks was a 25 dollar donation to Charity Water.  Well, I received SO much more than what I hoped for. My mom works at Graebel Van Lines in Wausau, Wisconsin and I have also worked there for two summers in the past. To raise money for charity or for a person in need Graebel will offer "dress down days" in which if you donate a dollar for the day you are able to dress down rather than wear the regular office apparel. So my mom had a fantastic idea to ask the lovely folks at Graebel if they could provide a dress down week at the beginning of January in which the money would go to those in need of clean water. 
      My mom spread the news about my fundraiser and after getting the go ahead I made up a poster and e-mail to send to everyone. On January 7th through January 10th Graebel employees generously donated a dollar a day (some donated more) to help fund providing clean water to those in Ethiopia. My mom told me the total amount on Friday and it took all I had to hold back the tears. I am so thankful, grateful, and excited for all the support I have received from everyone at Graebel. The total amount donated is $476.02! I am truly blown away by this amount. This means I am increasing my previous goal of $500 dollars to $1,000. Thank you again to those who donated, my mom for setting this whole thing up, and Graebel for allowing the dress down week. Without all of you I would not be able to set my goal even higher and raise more money for clean water. 

     2013 is promising for change, opportunity, and more blessings in my life. I have ran a total of 46 miles so far and raised a total of $631.52. The spring semester began on the 14th and I am looking forward to new classes, more running, and new experiences. To stay updated on my runs and donation goals here is the link to my Charity Water page: http://mycharitywater.org/jessjoyjasp  and here is the link to the donation page for I Run for Water: http://mycharitywater.org/i-run-for-water . I will also try and write a new blog once a week which will compile my runs, thoughts, and experiences from the week. 
    I cannot say thank you enough to those of you who donated. I also want to say thank you to the readers of my blog. Please continue to spread the word about Charity Water and remember any amount helps.

Stay joyful,
Jess      

I Run for Water

Hello Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you all had an amazing time celebrating the holidays with friends and family. As 2013 begins with full force I would like to tell you all about my fundraiser that began today, January 1st.  As I said in my last blog post, "I've been taking water for granted," my plan is to intertwine my passion for running with my passion for providing clean water to everyone.  So here it goes!

Through Charity Water I began a fundraiser titled "I Run for Water." This fundraiser consists of recording the daily mileage I run on my fundraising website, http://mycharitywater.org/i-run-for-water, and my goal is for at least one person to match the mileage I ran with a dollar donation per mile. For example, if I run 3 miles one day I would hope for a person to donate 3 dollars or any amount that person can. My goal is to raise a minimum of $500.00 in two months. This means I will be running as much as possible in two months in order to raise as much money as possible.

I am very excited for this fundraiser and I hope you are all too. It is so easy for all of my friends to help because of the donation page. This donation page will also make it easy for me to update my mileage, pictures, news, etc. to everyone who is interested. Here is exactly where the money is going:

100% of donations from this campaign will fund water projects in Ethiopia.

Your money will help the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Many here are farmers living on less than $1/day.

60% of the people here don’t have access to clean water, and must walk hours to the nearest water source.

You’re helping fund drilled and hand-dug wells for communities in the rural countryside of Ethiopia.

So please, please click on my website link daily to see updates and how many miles I ran for clean water. Any amount of money helps and would be greatly appreciated. I will be posting fundraiser updates http://mycharitywater.org/i-run-for-water as well as this blog. 

Stay Joyful,

Jess