Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Upside of Jealousy.

I was mulling over jealousy today... or envy... or whatever you want to call it. Basically, I was thinkin' 'bout when someone's got what I want! (Yet/ever/right now/ya know.)

But then (to be terribly vague and un-bloggerly and detail-free) I thought even more about people who have recently told me I have things they want. Hmm.

So the upside of the jealousy is that I stopped and remembered that some folks wish they had things I have -- perhaps tangible things and perhaps emotional things, maybe some current things or some past things -- and perhaps I can be more like the lovely Ms. Pema Chodron:

I can try to say, "Ah yes. I feel that I Want what she/he has very much. OK, Want. I see you. I acknowledge you. And bye-bye now."

And if I sort of let the Wanting float on by, it may reach someone else, who has Want as well, and maybe they'll say, "Ooh, I Want that thing there!" but then if they let go of the Wanting too, it won't burden them either. And sure, it'll float around forever, but it won't stick to anyone too tightly. And when we - I - Want something dearly, we can feel it, let it go, and remember that we have eminently Wantable things right here at home.

Anyhow. Here's to trying!

2 comments:

  1. Oh Wanting. Zach says that I'm basically envious of everyone and within certain parameters he is wholly correct. I'd like to think that this is something that goes away but instead I think that w/o a hell of a lot of work it just digs deeper into us and morphs into various shapes at various stages of life. This is what I worry for me. I know envy is a waste of time but it happens before I have a chance to reign in my emotions or duck out of its way.

    Here's to growth and the ability to change.

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  2. truth & honesty , kudos to you both.
    ah-h-h, yes. the I want dis-ease.
    and the reward of living a spiritual life is living a spiritual life.
    I still love my "things", alas.

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