WHY ENVY? Envy, the green-eyed monster, one of the seven deadly sins, has been living with us since time immemorial. Folks inflict on themselves resentful awareness of anothers advantage, no matter how meagre that advantage is. We all have to cope with envy, but the level by which enviousness has been heightened amongst us in contemporary Nigeria has reached alarming proportions. Personally, I chose to be modest and humble. I have a very humble background and was fortunate to be sent to school, the acquired education gives me a lifeline, it has ensured I and my family do not lack what to eat, what to wear and the shelter to live under. For that I remain contented and chose not to either be a beggar or overzealous. Why should I be envied, I wonder. Why should some people take delight in ones downfall? Many of us grew up reading the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, this tale has been told to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story . Fairytales like Snow White have underlying message within the lines. Snow White discusses the theme of envy and beauty and shows how humans obsessions can lead to their downfall as well as cause harm. Many people see what they still do not have instead of recognising how much of a better position they are able to enjoy. This revealing of shortcomings can only lead to feelings of inadequacy and sadness by the thought of failing to measure up. In the words of the French philosopher Francois de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), people are often vain of their most criminal passion; but envy is one passion so mean and low that nobody will admit it. I observed that most people flaunt their envy unnecessarily and in the course of doing that completely lost their faith and dignity. It need to be said that in a world where we are continually agitating to be rich, pretty, successful and smart, its oftentimes hard not to compare yourself to others. However, if you are to do that its only befitting to do it righteously; when the occasional begrudging thought sneaks in, it does not mean we cant squash it before it goes to war on our self-esteem. There are replete instances in which someone will vehemently quest for a position, job or some form of advancement, but fail in that pursuance while someone else will be fortunate enough, or qualified, to be offered the position or job. The failure, if I can call them that, will, instead of submitting to destiny, begun to perpetrate pitfalls and all sort of booby traps that will be detrimental to whom was destined to succeed. In the course of doing so, people tend to forget that no mortal can change destiny. It is pertinent to ask why do people envy others? Why would someone hate to see someone else happy or feel bad whenever he sees him doing well? Feeling of envy actually stem from the inferiority feelings you experience when you see someone else doing better than you. Envy doesnt always result from seeing someone doing better than us, but it results from remembering that we are no good or that we cant do like what others did. When you have inferiority affliction you tend to remember whenever you see someone doing things that you think you cannot do, or achieving success in a field you cannot succeed. According to the founding father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, Inferiority Complex is a persistent illusion and sense of inadequacy or a tendency to self-diminishment, sometimes resulting in excessive aggressiveness. According to Harold Coffin, Envy is the art of counting the other fellows blessings instead of your own. Each of us, poor or rich, successful or not, is blessed in a separate distinctive mould. Our parents repeatedly admonish that we consider the natural fact that our fingers are not equal and you can only be what the Almighty determined you to be. If you are a believer, why envy? Let me conclude with the words of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC): Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is bad and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy,
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 06:02:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015