Have you ever felt yourself resenting another person just because of
their perceived success? Do you hear yourself justifying their success
with some trivial reason so that you can easily dismiss them (and
consequently feel good about yourself)? Through my experiences, I have
come to learn that this instinctive emotion is merely trying to protect
our ego, by burying our inadequacies and insecurities. Our mind is at
work protecting us in the comforts of our little cocoon shell. But to what benefit does it serve?
Not only is the feeling of jealousy not conducive for relationship
building and effective communication, but it just doesn’t us feel very
good. Can you relate? That uncomfortable tightness in your stomach? Why
do we put ourselves through it?
In relationships, this emotion is so
pervasive and instantaneous that people fail to take time, step back and
evaluate it. It breaks communication, compassion and damages
relationships. I know that I have been jealous and I am intimately aware
of the impact it can have on a relationship. When we are in a state of
jealousy, we are operating in a state of instinctual survival mode. We
are acting out of scarcity. In this state, we are irrational and the
only thing we can think about is ourselves. We fail to consider the
feelings and impact of our behavior on other people. But when we operate
from a place of abundance, we unleash the human spirit, think
compassionately towards others. We can free ourselves from negative
emotions.
