Skip to main content

Free Writing February: Take 4

Jealousy. Envy. Covetousness.
Not words to describe emotions I'm used to.
Is it possible to not be jealous about someone's happiness, when you desire the same?
Is it possible to not envy someone's situation, but admire it fully?.
Is it possible to understand reality, accept it, and have covetousness not be present?

The simple answer is yes, but isn't happiness for ourselves born out of us having something we feel others do not? It's not to say we can't all share similar situations, successes, and dreams, but are they really the same? No one person can have the exact job, exact marriage, exact kids, or exact life of another, so isn't impossible to fully appreciate another's life, even if it's simply the newness of it?

Are we not more critical of those we care about if we truly care? Do we not want more for them than they expect for themselves? What if we admire two things, knowing one is impossible, one is probable, and the paradox of their existence is merely the battle between happiness for others and envy? Does that make us bad people? Is it wrong to want a job, knowing someone else's dreams will be crushed, but knowing full well, should they be awarded it, you'll be happy? Is it wrong to want love, but be happy if those you wish loved you back, love another? Is envy tied into the actual desire to have what others have or simply to have that feeling of accomplishment?

Why do we care so much about others, as it pertains to us, when we have everything or when we have nothing? Maybe, at the end of the day, what I personally envy is the ability of others to have choices, time to make mistakes that don't matter, and the future. A much longer future than I have. Is that really jealousy, envy, or covetousness or is it something much deeper?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

White Privilege

This was a post I wrote on Facebook after surprisingly not seeing any moaning about the Documentary by Jose Antonio Vargas, titled White People Dayyum! I just scrolled my timeline and not a single white person got their feelings hurt by White People. I unfortunately haven't seen it, but the number of fake accounts that popped up on twitter, tells me it was a damn good show. Here's the thing. If someone of color aka non-white says "White Privilege," are you offended? If you said yes, then you are exhibiting white privilege. It has nothing to do with how hard you work or study, how you stayed out of trouble, because here's the thing, that is entirely the point. Somewhere out there, there are 100 Black, Spanish, Native American, Arab, Asian, who worked and studied as hard as you and never got in trouble, but they don't have what you "earned" or achieved. Stop looking at the one person you know who isn't white that achieved as your benchmark. Loo...
10 comments
Read more

Quickie Review - Finding Vivian Maier

While I thoroughly enjoyed the film, especially the first 15-20 minutes, I was a little bothered by the way the film played out. The interviews with the clearly disturbed brother, sister and the mother, who obviously, was in for a cut, didn't need to be in the film. Then the woman who suggested abuse, yet seemed to have her life defined by Maier, as she tried to muster every ounce of emotion and fake guilt. Her friend, more than happy to be party of the charade. People who talk about abuse for the first time, usually don't do so on camera. The fact these scenes were so prominent, shows that they felt wronged that they were not rewarded. Maloof on the other hand, seems to disappear from the documentary during this part, almost hiding away from the fact, he went from complete praise, to even making money off of her, to destroying her personal legacy. He almost mentions the family of boys taking care of her rent, as an afterthought. Her burial spot, never shown, yet a video of her...
7 comments
Read more

If You Listen To One Speech - Lana Wachowski

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/lana-wachowski-opens-up-about-difficult-past-and-attempted-suicide-20121024 Today I saw a link to a video for a speech by Lana Wachowski.  The last name rung a bell, but I could't put my finger on it. Lana, used to be Larry, one of the writer, director, producers of the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta and the upcoming Cloud Atlas.  Lana is transgendered and has "come out" as a woman.  She was being honored by the Human Rights Campaign. I didn't know what to expect when this broad woman with crazy hair and a raspy voice began to speak.  She began with the usual pleasantries and told of her hair dresser. She then tells of her desire to be a quiet person and how hard the success of the Matrix movies made this.  The first ten minutes is telling of how she's not quite ready to be this spokesperson.  Then she speaks about the new movie Cloud Atlas and reveals the heart of the movie and this speech. She states,"The resp...
Post a Comment
Read more