The Dao of Jealousy

Last night I was spending time with two of my good friends. We had gone to get some Burger King, and we sat outside because we didn't want to dirty the lobby of the restaurant at 12h30 in the morning. We began to talk about something, anything, many things, nothing. One of my friends whips out his laptop and displays a personality test for some laughs, and we all realize that it suits him to a T. It was a good night.

As we were driving back to my place, the two guys I was spending time with both told me that they were slightly jealous of me. That really confused me. What do I have that would make others jealous? I didn't (and still don't) understand.

I've always said that while satisfaction may be brought by outside influences such as money, fame, games, sex, things like that, happiness is something entirely different. It's something that comes from within. Finding this happiness from within might seem cliché, but it's all a matter of gratefulness and mindfulness.

When we look within, it requires mindfulness. This can be achieved a lot of different ways, including (but not limited to) praying, meditating, reflecting, writing, and singing. We can see into ourselves and look into the present moment. When we do this, we can see that everything about the present moment is granted to us by kindness.

What did you have for dinner this evening? Whether you made it yourself, your mother made it for you, or you ordered at a restaurant, it was all prepared for you out of kindness. The job that provides for you is a form of kindness. The pure water you drink is kindness. Spending time with your friends, even poking fun at each other! It's kindness. On an even deeper level, your beating heart is kindness. Your mother or father could have ended the pregnancy and you would never have gotten the chance to experience this world. When you boil it down all the way, you get kindness.

If that kindness deeply touches your soul, then it's easy to see how it can be humbling, enlightening, even overwhelming, and you can see how it brings happiness. Despite how awful this world can seem, a lot of times we completely overlook the kindness given to us. This is why Jealousy, while a completely natural thing to feel, is not a healthy thing to dwell upon. In looking for what is truly just satisfaction elsewhere, we miss the chance to see true happiness when it's sitting right on our nose.

I promised myself I wasn't going to put up another super-preachy post anytime soon, but I had been chewing on this for a while and had to get it out of me somehow.