“Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.” Albert Einstein
“Sometimes I think we torture ourselves by desiring what others have. This includes money jobs fame fortune power prestige personality etc. It is difficult to refrain from getting caught up in the mirage. Once our mind is traveling along the jealousy path, it is almost impossible to stop. We all do it at different times. I think that is why we feel those twinges of jealousy that we hate to bear.” Albert Einstein
Most of us admit we would not want to change places with others. Yet we continue to desire what others have, and sometimes believe that what we have is far less. It can give us an empty sensation, or a fearful moment. We believe we will never get to the point in our lives, that we assume another has already reached. Maybe we won’t reach that pinnacle, and perhaps we were never meant to reach it. Attaining that achievement may have done us more harm than good, but we don’t accept that understanding. We need to believe we have our own mountains to climb.
To me, jealousy is not always the way it appears. Envy surfaces when we are disappointed in ourselves. We choose to believe we have not measured up to our potential. Upon observing others, who emerge with quite a few accomplishments, our own fall short. Our envy is then based on anger and disgust at ourselves, more than our desire to knock another down. Understanding the root cause of jealousy helps us to applaud our own goodness and capability.
We observe another lifestyle with a glance, and then proceed to fill in the picture and the blanks. We don’t have the inside knowledge of what is in someone’s heart. Having a gorgeous car doesn’t make one at peace. Being famous, disregards the time effort and privacy taken from the person and the family. Money at times can lead one to laziness, bad habits and a disrespect of others. We don’t see the complete canvas of someone’s life.
The judgments we make are based on our assumptions, of what a person must have in order to be happy in his or her life. The desirable assets of love, peace, security, friendships and family, are those features that can’t be bought. They are freely earned by anyone. Digging deeply into what fires our envy, allows us to ponder how and why it begins. Perhaps when this is accomplished, we will then understand how to stop it. Review what you have that is important to you. Think about what you would be willing to give up, to attain wealth for instance. There is a trade-off for material gains.
By reviewing what means so much to us promotes more transparency. Sometimes what we think is so special, is likely to be flimsy and unimportant once we gain the insight. I also venture to say that the more we envy a person’s personality, or human qualities, the more we hide our own. We are surely not recalling how special and important we actually are. It is no joke that we so underestimate our own worth. We can be our own worst enemy, by denying our importance. The more we fill our minds with doubts and self-depreciation, the less we see ourselves as worthy participants.
This obviously would lead a person to be jealous, and envious, because they are giving such reverence to another person, without appreciating their own good qualities. Some people promote themselves well, and lead others to a kind of adoration. If you are experiencing those feelings of jealousy creeping into your mind, just shut them down and toss them out of your mind. those thoughts will grow and devour the truth of who and what you really are.
Most of us never reveal our deeply hidden self truths. We are the only one’s privy to our own abilities.We admire the qualities in friends, neighbors and family. Others might fall short of our standards. So many people are simply viewed o be honorable, because we became part of the mob who decreed this as a truth. By seeing beyond the hyped up statements of others, we acknowledge the human being with his strengths and weaknesses. Some of us hide our weaknesses better than others. Some of us hide our strengths better than others, so we are overlooked.
Man made truths are fleeting and passing. What we assail today, we will destroy tomorrow. We can easily overcome envy and jealousy by having faith and belief in our own abilities and talents. We don’t have to make them known to the world. The only person who must find and cherish them is ourselves. We are special. The measurement of our importance is unlimited. We should not hide ourselves from anyone. we can attempt to stretch ourselves, beyond what we ever thought we could accomplish. We don’t know how far we can go, or how much we can do. We can be grateful, for the worthiness of our own talents. I look at it this way. If my car breaks down on a highway, I want to see a mechanic more than I want a doctor to appear. The value of both is immeasurable.
You don’t have to be jealous of anyone, but it is important to respect all. We are traveling the same road, with a variety of talents. The cats not better because he can climb a tree easier than a dog can do it. The dog isn’t better because he can run faster than the cat. A fish swims faster than a goat, but the goat climbs better on rocks. The lion hunts better than most other animals, yet the hyena hunts in packs and gets his prey more often. Who gets the medal? I would say it depended on any item you chose to use as the measurement, at any given time. Do the best you can, with what you have, and trust that you will be successful. Express respect, love and empathy, as often as possible, because you’ll never deplete any of them, no matter how much you give away.
“Envy is a lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self-worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has.” Elizabeth O’Connor
“Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.” Albert Einstein
“Afflictive emotions – our jealousy, anger, hatred, fear – can be put to an end. When you realize that these emotions are only temporary, that they always pass on like clouds in the sky, you also realize they can ultimately be abandoned.” Dalai Lama
