I’ve often tried to compare spiritual life to physical life, like apples to apples ...

Apples “mirror” apples, but they are also two distinct and independent things.

On one hand:

We could say that our spiritual life is distinctly different from our physical life.

Real situations and circumstances can be compared between both worlds – like apples to apples.

On the other hand:

While our spiritual life and physical life are distinct,

they are not entirely separate or comparable like apples to apples.

We could say that our spiritual life parallels (or mirrors) our physical life in so many ways.

They are interconnected and influence each other.