THE SPARROW'S COMPLAINT

A sparrow complained to Mother Nature, 'You gave beautiful colors
to the pea<snip> and a lovely song to the nightingale, but I am plain
and unnoticed. Why was I made to suffer?'

'You were not,' stated Mother Nature. 'You suffer because you make
the same foolish mistake as human beings. You compare. Be yourself,
for in that there is no comparison and no pain.'

Comparison operates on the level of conditioned thought, so by
transcending thought we never compare and never suffer.

- Vernon Howard