When I was young, I grew up in the countryside an my bested friend lived on a local farm where his father was the farmer. I spent hours every day with my friend on the farm. We roamed the lands, tended the animals.
As I grew up, I was ambitious to see life and the world. I travelled to the city for education and saved money to backpack around the world. I ended up with a city job that involves a lot of travel to different places around the world. I have met so many people from so many different backgrounds.
I recently went back to the village and met my old friend by chance. I hadn't seen him for 25 years. He was still living on the same farm where he was the famer. He had a young son who helped him.
I am not comparing at all who's live is better. He is happy and content and you can't beat that. However, it did make me realise how my life decisions had led me down a completely different path. I don't regret moving on and leaving him behind it was right for me. I did leave him behind but we both ended up happy with the present we find ourselves living in.
This is a good story and shows that different paths can still lead to the same place; contentment.
Who's life is better? It doesn't matter, but I'd say both of you would say you have been happy with your respective lives and that there's things you could have done better, differently. That doesn't negate the things you actually did though, they are all components of your lives.
Thanks for sharing this.