envy – Something to Ponder About

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader. Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned. Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

Each Friday, I post a Proverb or Saying and a quote that I find thought-provoking.

I hope you will too.

“Even a small star shines in the darkness.”

~ Unknown

Confucius is credited with writing and editing some influential Chinese classical literature. His principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and beliefs. As a man, Confucius championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives and in addition, family as a basis for ideal government.

His most famous adage for a good life is “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”, the so-called Golden Rule.

The Golden Rule is well-known throughout the world. Lesser known is the following Confucian quote:

“Attack the evil that is within yourself,

rather than attacking the evil that is in others.”

― Confucius

Do you sometimes catch yourself feeling envious, or jealous in your dealing with others? I have this week been pondering the origin of these thoughts. The world now has an overload of information at its fingertips. Information about what we might aspire to, what we might desire and seek to obtain.

We can never really possess anything, on a permanent basis. In truth, we have but a loan. A short term or long term loan. So why the feeling to have what another has been fortunate to possess on their short term loan?

Where does it stem from?

Join the discussion by leaving a comment below.

Proverbial Thursday – now posting on Fridays at Something to Ponder About