Invidia

en·vy
1. a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

Tafas: [talking of Britain] Is that a desert country?
T.E. Lawrence: No: a fat country. Fat people.
Tafas: You are not fat?
T.E. Lawrence: No. I'm different.

Aeryn Sun : I have always been a Peacekeeper. It's all I know, its what I am.
John Crichton : You can be more.

Some are born to move the world
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be
Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you, the blind who once could see
The bell tolls for thee...


Every problem in this world can be traced to one of two things:

1. Usurpation of the place of God by man.
2. Selfishness.

We envy because we think we have been denied something we deserve without putting in the work necessary to get it. In other words, lazy. To put it another way, selfish. Selfishness is the foundation of our base natures. We want the world to revolve around us, to come easy to us, to bow to our will; and we don't want to pay the price. The price exacted by poor choice, or by what must be done to achieve our goals.

As a culture we have tried again and again to kill God, or at least marginalize Him. We have created a bubble of altered reality through legislative and legal fiat, acting as the small child shaking its fist at the universe, claiming it isn't there. When, in our shortsightedness we think we have banished Him, we laugh, cheer, pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves. We proceed on our merry little way, blithely disregarding the swirling storm around us, unaware of the debt which will one terrible day be called into balance.

So much is offered to us. So much that seems so little, but on closer examination is so great a treasure that we cannot fathom it. Yet, we choose to be niggardly with our dreams and focus on that which is fleeting, and even as we grasp it in our hands it disappears and we are left with nothing. We turn our eyes on ourselves, and wonder why we are so empty. We concentrate on our own desires, even to the point of cloaking them in piety, in good works, in appearances of sainthood, but in the end we are no different than the abject narcissist, save that we lack the integrity to be honest with ourselves.

All of this leaves us empty, wanting and bitter; thus the seed of envy is sown and harsh is its fruit. Rather than lifting our eyes and aspirations to higher things, we turn to ourselves and finding that lacking, we turn on others. "Things" become our aspirations, position our highest goal, and the fawning of others becomes our creed. The drive to fulfillment and happiness is strong indeed, but our thirst for these is only slaked by contentment, and contentment is a choice that only we can make, independent of circumstance.