Soul Sustenance

Conquering The Emotion Of Jealousy (Part 3) 

Internal contentment or satisfaction is the antidote (neutralizer or healing agent) for jealousy. People with strong self-esteem and self-respect are the ones who remain satisfied or content and away from the emotion of jealousy while coming in contact with different people with their own unique specialties, virtues and attainments. 

Self-respect or self-esteem depends on knowing who I am, knowing my eternal (ageless), internal self. When I have found that sense of internal identity, I feel I have a right to be here, to exist. Without this dimension, it is very difficult to really respect myself deeply. If I base my self-respect on identifying with the superficial (artificial) aspects of my being: my looks, personality, wealth, success, my friends, intelligence or my role, I will never have a stable sense of self-respect, because all these aspects are changeable. Thus I will end up fluctuating all the time. To stay stable in my self-respect, I need to have a deeper understanding of my internal self and tap into those riches that are within me forever, waiting to blossom, like the flower from the seed. As I become internally aware, those riches and resources start flowing out of me. The more stable I am in my self-respect, the more I radiate what I truly am. I feel a deep sense of contentment and I am happy to be me, however I am. I accept myself as I am. 

Let us be honest - a person who is jealous just cannot sit stably on the seat of self-respect – they keep moving i.e. fluctuating. Today they meet a person with lesser specialties or attainments than them and they are on top of the world - they rise above the seat of self-respect and enter the dimension of ego. Tomorrow they meet a person with more specialties or attainments than them and that is a bad day for them - they go underneath the seat of self-respect and enter the dimension of low self-esteem. What a shallow way of living! The ideal way of living – in both cases, remain in self-respect and give respect to the other. Remember that the jealous, the angry, the bitter and the egoistic are the first to race to the top of mountains. A confident and internally content person enjoys the journey, the people they meet along the way and sees life not as a competition. They reach the summit last because they know God isn’t at the top waiting for them. He is down below helping his followers to understand that the view is glorious where ever you stand.