Envy, the great villain of our character

It's not the first time I've written about this subject. It's about envy, which we can safely say is humanity's worst evil of all time. Psychology and neuroscience point to envy as one of the main causes of illness. Some say that it is the queen of all the vices that plague humanity, since the envious person potentiates the other vices they cherish, such as gluttony, avarice, anger, wild sex, among others. It infiltrates everywhere, contaminating innocence and killing hope.

In a story told in the book In the shade of the elm tree, When a young man once asked him what he thought was the worst evil practiced against others, he replied that it was envy. He explained that it is the worst of human faults. It leads to slander, disharmony and hatred.

The wise man completed his answer by saying: “Envy sucks insatiably at the sap of the tree it shelters; it bites the hand that helps it; it is the enemy of everyone who does good. And the envious person does not give thanks to God. He is that being who, while appearing to have friends, speaks and acts in their absence like a true enemy.”.

The pilgrim, upon hearing this answer, asked: “How is it possible to recognize envy in human souls?”

And the wise man replied: “The man dominated by envy is the unhappiest of all, because he is never satisfied. He is always coveting other people's goods, but he denies all good to other people's goods. He lives in anguish and bitterness. He doesn't dream, he only longs, and he doesn't smile because he doesn't know joy.”.

You may be thinking: but am I exempt from envy? I venture to say no. With the rare exception of those who have already freed themselves from this evil, the vast majority of us have experienced this feeling at some point and have also suffered the consequences in terms of organic disharmony and a lack of inner peace.

And what can be done about this terrible evil?

Let's remember that Jesus taught us that loving our neighbor as ourselves and doing unto others as we would have others do unto us is the surest way to defeat selfishness

Do you know what the Master in our little story said to the pilgrim who asked him the same question? “Nothing, but love... Love your neighbor more than yourself and you will be free of envy.” This is the antidote to envy. The remedy is within us.

Let's remember once again that Jesus taught us that loving your neighbor as yourself and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you is the surest way to defeat selfishness. And envy is nothing more than an expression of this selfishness.

Sometimes we don't feel good enough to achieve something, to have what we want or to be what we admire. And feeling envious becomes almost an inevitable condition in our lives. This feeling may even visit our minds, but we mustn't allow it to take over.

Let's put vigor into this fight by practicing love of neighbor. And the best way to practice love of neighbor is to exercise the spirit of service. Serving others means always being willing to help, taking pleasure in being useful and feeling happy when we manage to contribute in some way to the good of others. It means putting ill will aside. It's looking for a way to meet someone else's need before saying a no round. It's having the goodwill towards others that we expect others to have towards us. But remember: without asking for anything in return.

Another thing that helps in exercising love for others is to use pronouns less often mine when we refer to the less pleasant aspects of life, such as: “my problem”; “my debts”; “my pain”; “my illness”. Such statements awaken in us the terrible feeling of being a victim and undeserving, which reveals a selfish view of existence and favors the contamination of envy in our Spirit.

Let's think about it.

Reference

A GARDENER (Spirit). In the shade of the elm tree. Psychographed by Dolores Bacelar. Santo André, SP: Correio Fraterno, 2022.