I remember a day about 25 years ago when I experienced a significant case of envy. A teaching assistant was describing her new car--a mini van. At the time, I was driving an hand-me-down oldsmobile that was falling apart. I had a young family, a full-time job and subpar transportation, and the teaching assistant's new minivan was very attractive to me. Why can't I have that, I thought. Years later, my husband and I did buy a minivan, while it wasn't new--it was a big step up from that decrepit oldsmobile.
On another occassion, a colleague was telling us about her weekend trips. I was drooling with envy as she described the jaunts to places near and far. At that time, busy with teaching and parenting, I was lucky to be able to take a day trip with the exception of a vacation weekend now and then. Later, like my colleague, as my children grew older, it was easier to take off for a weekend with greater regularity.
Envy definitely strikes all of us at one time or another. It's good to think deeply about the envy you feel. Clearly, in the cases above, both people had something I wanted, and in time and with determination and some good fortune, I was able to experience what they had in my own life. In cases like these, envy lets us know what we desire, and then it is up to us to find ways to achieve those desires.
There may be times when we envy somethign that is far out of our reach. Yet often when you really drill down to what those objects or experiences mean to us, we can find something to take its place. I thought of this with regard to where I live--it may not be as fancy as other homes, but it is very comfortable and affords us a nice life. I am grateful that we have the place we have and honestly, while I may move in time, I won't move to a place that is much different.
We all have deep desires and envy brings those desires to the forefront. Using envy as a catalyst to work for something different, more or better is a positive way to use that emotion. None of us will ever have exactly the same opportunities, experiences or objects, but I do believe that we can reach acquisition of some of what we really desire in life--the things that make our life meaningful and rewarding. Onward.