The Bitter Fruit of Anger: Growing From the Seeds of Jealousy
Jealousy can be very painful.
Ownership is an illusion. In reality we can never own something. This is beyond our control. Therefore, it’s useless for anyone to be power hungry or labeled as a “control freak”.
We don’t even own our bodies
If we owned our bodies, we’d control them. We could prevent our bodies from becoming sick and from aging, but we can’t control that. We have a hard time controlling the food that we put into our bodies.
Fear comes from resisting
Our best friends may prefer the presence of someone else over us. Our spouse may cheat on us. These possibilities are realistic and common. Worrying about them won’t stop jealousy from happening. Trying to control the external world that’s not up to us. Anyway it is a waste of time.
Why jealousy creates pain
Stoicism focuses on living well regardless of the circumstances. If we realize that happiness isn’t found in those things that we’re afraid to lose but rather in our ability to be content without them, we might have an easier time letting them go.
No matter how much effort we put into our relationships, how well our properties are secured, how great…
