I
love going though quotes and finding gems like this one, said so well by someone
who says it so differently than I might have said it. As I thought about this
one and its meaning to me, I laughed because it made so much sense. It's a way I
rejoice in a new kind of understanding.
We
all know envy probably. It is a place of fear focusing on what we do not have
and it is purely the ego at work in our mind. But it is more than this. It
strips the other of their worth, or accomplishment, or standing in order that we
may feel better about ourselves. That reminds me about one of my favorite
analogies from Jim Rohn about there being two ways to have the tallest building.
Envy, of course, is tearing everyone else's down, or becoming known as a
destroyer rather than a builder.
Voltaire's
quote takes that in the opposite direction of love by appreciating what others
may have in the way of excellence, value, or achievement, and thereby accepting
it as our own via association and love.
Much
of the association with appreciation and envy have to do with possessions and/or
money. To add a slight twist to Voltaire's quote, here's one of my favorite
quotes from Jerry & Esther Hicks and Abraham: "You are never deprived when
someone else gains, because abundance expands proportionately to match desires.
When the success of another makes your heart sing, your resistance
is gone and your own success soars."
I
added bold type to the last sentence of that quote because it is that quote that
speaks so boldly to me and wakes me up to learn to appreciate what others have
and achieve by celebrating them, and in that release, enjoy their success with
them, thereby becoming a part of their success.
Isn't
that an interesting way to look at that? I find it purely fascinating and
joyful, while prepaving the way toward my own by appreciation of theirs. It is
also very similar to celebrating what we have, however meager it may be in
comparison, and finding joy in our own back yard.
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