Our neighborhood offers weekly recycling collection. Our recycling has to be in special bags. So it’s noticeable when someone has recycling sitting out on collection day.

Recently, I set out our one bag of recycling, got in the car, and drove to work. As I passed our neighbor’s house, though, I noticed that they had set out a massive pile of recycling bags. It must have been at least ten bags of recycling. A staggering amount.

I felt ashamed for moment. Here my neighbor was, with so much recycling, doing so much good for the planet. And I had one paltry bag of recycling. I must hate the environment. I should be doing more.

Silly things like that run through my mind sometimes. Then I remember that there may be some things I don’t know.

Maybe my neighbor has been saving up recycling for a month.

Maybe my neighbor gets recyclable things from friends and family who don’t live in a neighborhood with a collection service.

Maybe my neighbor just has a larger household that generates more things to be recycled.

There could be all kinds of reasons my neighbor had a colossal agglomeration of recycling bags sitting out that day. It’s not a competition. We both care about the environment enough to recycle, and we each do our part by gathering up those things we can recycle each week into our special bags. We probably do other things that flow from our care for the environment too.

Taking care of the planet isn’t something that any of us does alone. Like many worthy goals, it takes a lot of people living into the possibility of caring for the environment more intentionally. Each of us has something meaningful to contribute, even though our pile of recycling bags may not look the same as someone else’s.

By the time I was at the end of the block, I had already set aside my momentary pang of shame. I’m grateful for my neighbor, and I’m grateful we have the opportunity to contribute to something we both find worthwhile.

Some have said that comparison is the thief of joy. When I do something I care about, I want that to be a joyful experience. And I want to feel grateful that others care about the same things and are moving in the same direction. It doesn’t matter how our mutual contributions to that vision measure up against one another. It matters how well our contributions align with what we value.

Do you ever struggle with comparisons? What would it look like to shift instead toward gratitude for other people’s contributions toward a mutual vision? How would it feel to align your actions with your sense of possibility, regardless of how that compares with other people’s actions?

Rev. Randy Partain