Isn't it Time to Say Goodbye to Jealousy?
Mother Teresa used to say that to be kind means giving much
more than material things. Do you agree? I do. For example, it can mean giving a smile, offering an
encouraging word and sharing someone else’s joy. But don't you think that in order
to share in someone else’s happiness first we need to get rid of the jealousy that
sometimes arises in our hearts?
When we are jealous, we
are unable to feel happy for others, and many times, instead of giving a
compliment or praise, we sometimes end up spoiling another person’s happy moment by
doing or saying something mean. Jealousy is like a disease that sometimes creeps
inside us without us realizing it.
How do we know for sure if what we feel is jealousy? Do a self-check! If we have a feeling of sadness, even if it is slight or deep inside, at the sight of another person’s material or personal achievement, then we have been bitten by the jealousy bug!
How do we know for sure if what we feel is jealousy? Do a self-check! If we have a feeling of sadness, even if it is slight or deep inside, at the sight of another person’s material or personal achievement, then we have been bitten by the jealousy bug!
- Am I bitter about someone else’s good fortune or success?
- Do I always try to keep up with my neighbour?
- Do I criticize others so that they will lose confidence in themselves and so that I will look better?
- Do I keep comparing myself to others?
- Am I always looking for praise from others, and if someone else receives praise, does it bother me? Am I slow to thank, to encourage or to praise?
- Am I able to feel genuine happiness when someone else gets something I wanted?
- For us to be happy about our own lives, we do not need to prove that other people’s lives are miserable.
- For us to have faith in our own path, we do not need to prove someone else’s path is wrong.
- For us to be secure, we do not need to make someone else insecure.
An old proverb says that happiness shared doubles. Let’s seek to always share one another’s joy, because this will make us better people. It will strengthen and encourage us. And it will help us feel happy no matter what. If we rejoice in other people’s progress, we will immediately feel uplifted ourselves. If we let other people’s successes be our successes, others’ blessings will be our blessings, others’ joy our joy. So, be happy for your coworker’s promotion, your colleague’s new car, your old school friend’s good-looking spouse, your friend’s growing business, your cousin’s scholarship! A person who is able to feel happy for others is able to be happy most of the time.
Wisdom to contemplate:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same
regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate
with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.” (Romans 12:15-16)
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