Envy

Well, I tried to find a good synonym for the word envy, but couldn't come up with one. I mention the concept because envy honks me off.

And yet, we all suffer from envy sometimes. We envy someones life style, car, jewelry, job. We envy someones success, or their children's success, we envy their pocketbook, possibly their dog (it could happen!), possessions, or perhaps their beauty. Envy makes me squirm. It stirs the pot of discontent. It makes me feel a little dissatisfied with a life that is hugely blessed. Envy causes me to look at myself and feel lacking.

I mention this because I received one of those "Christmas" letters today, even though we are well into February. I hope the person who wrote the letter knows how graced her life is. I was pondering all this while scooping poop today. It is a lovely day, I was in the yard with my dogs, we'd done pet therapy, I am well loved, well fed, healthy. And yes, I was envious of travels, successes and study abroad.

I had to laugh as was I was washing crap off my shoes. Even though I was carefully cleaning the yard, I did indeed step in it. Stepping in a big pile of envy is rather like stepping in a big pile of dog crap. It's stickin thinkin.

For every ounce of envy I felt, there is no doubt someone incredibly envious of all the blessings I enjoy. My blessings are just different than other peoples blessings. What defines happiness or success for me need not be measured against other's happiness or success.

It is what it is. So I bagged up the envy and wrote it off as a pile I chose not to step in.