Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Jealousy is a feeling of wanting to have what someone else has: the bed-ridden is annoyed to see others healthy and lively. The man without peace of mind is unhappy to see the happy, peaceful lives of others. Jealous person simply cannot stomach the success of others. They always want what others have.
Jealous person wishes others to be less fortunate. They cannot get their jealous topic out of their mind. They break matches try to remove a person from office with shaded remarks. They plan to take away or damage the happiness of others because they think that when others go higher their worth is lowered.
But when jealous hearts fail in their mission it gives rise to feelings of shame and humiliation. They lose their peace of mind. Their pleasantness, on the other hand, slips and they turn sullen. So, they hurt themselves emotionally or mentally. But if they succeed, they turn as merry as mice in malt; their jealousy vanishes from the mind, their appetite increases and a joyous celebration breaks out for their supporters. They spend a happy time.
We see this jealousy in the Bible where Cane killed his brother Abel as the Lord looked with favour on Abel’s offering and not his. This made Cane angry and his destructive imagination forced him to commit the crime. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, for their father loved Joseph more than any of them. They hated him and could not speak a kind word to him and when opportunity came they wanted to finish him. Jealousy is best explained by the unkindness of the frog in this anonymous, poem.”A glow-worm sat in the grass bright as a diamond it shone. An ugly toad came up from the wetland and spat on the shining creature. ‘What have I done,’ said the worm.”Nothing,’ replied the toad. But why did you shine so brightly?” Similarly, an envious man feels or suffers from an inferiority complex.
The efficient way to get rid of envy is to stop comparing oneself with others for it tortures the jealous heart. One should not be greedy to have what others have for greed makes one a fool as it did for the dog that never was happy with what he had. He always wanted more. While crossing a bridge over a stream, the dog saw its own reflection in the water and wanted the reflected bone from the water which appeared to be bigger. So, without thinking any further, he let go of his own bone and angrily attacked his reflection. Greed paid the price.
One should start finding uniqueness in self and look at what one has instead of what one does not have. Secondly, some believe that they can control love through jealousy. But when this is done, some say, “It becomes deadly and harms a healthy relationship. This happens, when one has a low self esteem, and does not believe that one is lovable enough but fears to lose the person one loves.” Lastly, I feel that this ‘Serenity Prayer’ can help a jealous person: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom, to know the difference.”
