Leveling the Mind So the Pits of Desire Are No Longer Bottomless (2)
What Lily Sun found most intolerable was a fellow student from her hometown who had attended the same high school. Originally, the two were about equal in every respect, but after entering college, her classmate's grades kept improving, and she was even elected as a class officer. Lily simply couldn't accept this. So, she started spreading rumors about her, slandering and attacking her everywhere. Gradually, everyone began to distance themselves from Lily. To save face and surpass her classmate, Lily resorted to manipulations during the class officer election, canvassing for votes, but in the end, only her own ballot was cast for herself, leaving her utterly embarrassed. When that plan failed, she tried another: during the final exam, she cheated by sneaking in notes, but was caught red-handed by the proctor. Lily wept bitterly, begging for mercy, but the school's rules were strict. That very day, the academic office decided to expel her.
Lily Sun never imagined her college life would end with expulsion. Feeling too ashamed to face her parents, she left for a completely unfamiliar city...
If Lily Sun had not indulged her jealousy of others but instead focused her energy on studying, she too could have made great progress and become an admirable role model, just like her fellow student from her hometown. Yet she chose the wrong path. Rather than saying that others' success hindered her, it is more accurate to say her own misplaced focus led her astray, causing her to stray from her path and destroy her own future.
Human desire, on one hand, is a natural need; yet as society has developed, this reason has grown less important. Another crucial cause of desire is jealousy. Driven by jealous feelings, people always think others are better in every way: envying those who buy larger homes, drive luxury cars, have outstanding children, attractive partners, good jobs, and high incomes...
Jealousy is a negative, unhealthy emotion. There are at least two main reasons why jealousy arises: first, an inability to accept the reality that others are better than oneself; second, strong impulses for power, dominance, and possession.
In a sense, jealousy is the source of all evil and a weakness of human nature. Nearly everyone possesses this instinct, but it is deeply shameful, and everyone tries to hide it as something unspeakable. As a result, it sinks into the subconscious, like a hidden fire burning in the heart of the jealous.
Ultimately, jealousy is actually a sign of a person's lack of self-confidence or ability.
G. W. F. Hegel said: "Jealousy is the resentment of mediocrity toward outstanding talent." The root of jealousy often lies in people confirming their self-worth through comparison with others. When they see others' value rise, they feel their own value fall, leading to painful experiences. This is especially hard to bear when the person compared was once equal to or even inferior to oneself.
Jealousy easily turns into dissatisfaction and resentment toward the object of comparison, which then leads to various jealous behaviors: either seeking out the other's weaknesses to belittle them, spreading baseless rumors to defame them, or even taking extreme actions to destroy property or harm people. Some, even if they control themselves from acting out, adopt an aloof, arrogant facade in front of others to protect their 'self-esteem,' though deep down they feel very inferior.
There was a young man whose family was not well-off, and his college was not prestigious. After graduation, he struggled to find an ideal job. He always had a dream: to own a seafront apartment and bring his parents—who had spent their lives working the land—to enjoy a better life.