Pathwalking 115
Jealousy is a useless emotion.
Our emotions serve numerous purposes. They let us feel beyond intellect, beyond the most basic knowledge into a far broader world. Our wide gamut of emotions is part of what makes each of us so unique.
Most emotions serve a purpose. They let us know if we are in a positive or negative mindset. They let us express ourselves beyond words, facial expressions, and any other physical gestures. Emotions cover a vast array of topics, range from the good to the bad to the indifferent, and are a part of how our souls express themselves in the world.
When it comes to all the emotions we are capable of feeling, there is no emotion more useless than jealousy.
What IS jealousy? Dictionary.com defines it thus:
noun
1.jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another’s success or advantage itself.
2.mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.
3.vigilance in maintaining or guarding something.
4.a jealous feeling, disposition, state, or mood.
An expression of resentment directed at someone or something, suspicion, uneasiness. Jealousy is an emotion that we do not really hold for ourselves, but against another.
Pathwalking is about controlling our choices, taking control over our emotions, and seeking and making our own destinies. Jealousy is an emotion that has nothing to do with the self, and as such is a useless emotion.
Jealousy is tough to identify because it often hides as another emotion. Unwarranted anger, fear, that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Jealousy rarely stands on its own, it chooses and even hijacks other emotions to use as disguises, because jealousy on its own serves no purpose at all.
I have written more than once that you have no control over anyone else. No matter how much I share about my ideas and Pathwalking, I cannot make you walk a path, I cannot change you as a person, I cannot directly change the external. The only thing anyone can truly take control of is personal, internal things.
Jealousy is an emotional response based wholly on an external factor. There might be something that causes me to become jealous, and from there the only thing I can get is negativity. Negative begets negative, I write often, and as such I will not be able to easily walk my path if I am in that headspace.
Jealousy can take on so many forms. It is the attention a loved one is getting from another. It is the award you see a fellow get that you feel you are more worthy of. It is the promotion you are passed over for by another.
What is jealousy, really? It is a lack of self-esteem. We become jealous because something happens that makes us question our own worth, our own deserving of the things we want. Jealousy is a manifestation of doubt, discontent, confusion that we direct at another. It is a cleverly disguised emotion that does not serve anyone in any way, except to give us someone or something other than ourselves to blame our discontent on.
How do I identify and discard jealousy? This is hard. We all find ourselves having instances of jealousy, but it often takes someone else to point out to us that our anger, our mistrust, our discontent is jealousy.
The first step is to be more in touch with my own emotions. Ask – How am I feeling? What am I feeling? Why am I feeling this?
Why is important in regards to jealousy. It is asking why that will identify the external issue, and help to locate and deal with the internal one.
The most important thing here is to acknowledge that jealousy is a useless emotion. It does nothing to improve life, it does nothing to help you along your path, it does not serve you in any positive manner. Accepting the uselessness of jealousy is the first step in combating its grip on your other, hijacked emotions.
We cannot be positive and happy all the time, I know that. But we can choose how long to live with and dwell in negativity. We can certainly identify and stamp out jealousy and its ineffectuality. I believe that if more people lived less jealously of other people, we might all find greater contentment in smaller and more meaningful things.
Can you see why jealousy is meaningless?
This is the one-hundred fifteenth entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Thank you for joining me.
The first year of Pathwalking is available in print and for your Kindle.
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