One of the most important things I have learned is probably the hardest, because social media is everywhere. The lesson is: Never Compare Yourself or Your Life to Anyone Else. Only compare yourself to yourself. Am I a better person than I was last year. Have I taken better care of myself than I used to? Have I worked at maintaining a good attitude in spite of setbacks. You know. That sort of thing. NOT: am I being as productive during the pandemic as all those people I see on social media? Am I as thin, smart, beautiful, popular as anybody else anywhere, because seriously, who gives a flying fuck? All we need to know is if we did better today than we did yesterday, and if not, how can we do better tomorrow? Better at being a good person, better at taking care of ourselves and those around us, better at being a good citizen. Those are the things that matter. That’s what I think, anyway. This comes down to little things, like ‘did I tip well the person who brought me my order?’. Did I treat the waitperson with respect and courtesy? Did I offer to help someone who needed it that moment, like someone having difficulty on the stairs or crossing the street or whatever? Was I just kind and courteous and generous and polite to all those I met today? These things are important, not only to the other person, but to our own sense of self, and who we are in the world. Selfish, self-centered, self-righteous. All those ‘self’ words are the ones to work at NOT being.