It’s a Symphony, not a Competition

Why in the world would anyone look at anyone or anything else as a competition?

We should all aspire to do better for ourselves and make the best impact on others we can. Just as an orchestra has many instruments in unison for a greater goal, our lives should be filled with the illumination of the soul that glows for others.

I want to die and have people say that I lived a sterling life. A life of noble quality and of the highest quality. Those two concepts fit together perfectly, in my opinion.

Competing with other people is the antithesis of that idea.

Can you imagine what would happen if a group of flautists decided to take over the score beyond the violinists? Discordant disaster would then follow.

For example, I want all authors to make it and all writers to further the craft.

Someone else writing more or fewer words in a day is irrelevant to my goals in my own life.

I’ve seen some funny posts (tweets?) on X recently that deal with the idea that writing a certain number of words a day makes you better or worse than someone else.

It’s not a race, and it certainly isn’t a game. If you treat it as the symphony it is, a gorgeous sound will play in your life.

My philosophy is to look at someone else’s blessings and be quite happy for them and content in my own life.

This is because I believe in divine providence and guidance. God will never let you pass up what is meant for you.

And you will take the correct path, too, not having to worry about missing anything.

Follow the sheet music, and you won’t be lost, even if improvisation leads to beauty.

If you have seven options before you, you’ll have the wisdom granted from heaven to pick the one that makes the most sense for you and your life.

Not that the other choices before you are any less important or valuable, but you’ve got to do what is correct for your own life—marking out that which you’ve decided with forward momentum and action.

In my own life, I have received little breadcrumbs and synchronicities that lead me to know I’m on the correct path. That might seem crazy to some, but we Christians also believe a man rose from the dead, and that doesn’t often happen in life, does it? Just saying…

But the reason I brought all that up is to say that competing with other people and trying to “one-up” them is beyond stupid.

You have your own set path in your life, so I believe worrying about what everybody else is doing in theirs is misguided—with the caveat that if you’re glancing to support them, then it is perfectly fine to do so.

A cello will play a different part than a trumpet.

What car I drive or someone else drives is irrelevant to my purpose in this life. How much money I make or someone else makes is also irrelevant to me. The homeless guy who needs a hand up for the day is just as worthy of love as the Ferrari driver in the mountain neighborhood.

From the highest to the lowest, we are all made in God’s image.

Those two examples are as disparate as can be, but by God’s grace we all love our paths by being the best we can be at them.

Another writer is not my competition. A musician’s peers are peers, and not someone to step over. A painter’s paintings are but one of an entire museum. I mean, you can’t have an art museum without a variety of art, right?

Stop viewing others as your competition, and quit worrying about being behind or ahead.

Follow the intended path that God created for you alone.

Your path might just have fewer mountains and more curves, while theirs might have more mud and mire but a shorter destination.

God did not put us here to compete (and, to be clear, I don’t mean athletic competition) with others. He put us here to enrich the lives of others with our individual gifts.

With each step, we move forward. And moving forward helps us push others along who might have paused for a bit.

Jesus will give us each our own individual crowns at the eschaton.

That’s a race everyone needs to win. A symphony of sound that we are welcome to partake in.

Just a pre-Shabbat thought as I unwind for the evening.

Can you tell it’s the end of the night? I meant to keep this about musical examples and still went in other directions. It’s been a day, haha.

Blessings and shalom be your portion for all the days of your path!