Understanding, always. Comparisons don't work for me, good or bad. Everyone's in a different place in their life and has dealt with different things and in different ways that's gotten them to where they are. Understanding eliminates the need for comparison.

I certainly do. People are fascinating and my lifelong study has been ‘why do people do what they do?’

This is a place for communication/connection, amusement and sometimes intelligent discussion. I don't see much talk involving "how terrible my life is", so this question seems out of place, to me.

On a personal level, unless someone actually tells me about their views and what they believe, I don’t really ask. However, if they do, I am interested in what they have to say and would engage with then in an exchange of Ideas and views. As a counsellor with a Charity, I do have to ask certain questions of clients, but I never volunteer any information regarding my own circumstances, that would neither be appropriate or professional. I never compare my lot with those of my friends or others I may know or read about, but I can’t help thinking how fortunate I am to have been raised as a freethinker. I do realise when listening to the people whom I volunteer to help, just how comparatively well off I am, and that’s why I try to give something back by giving my time to help them.

My work is trying to understand people. Never to compare though. My experiences are mine alone. There is so much that goes into creating an adult that we can never understand each other fully.