Knowing You Deserve More

"Jealousy springs more from love of self than from love of another." Francois de La Rochefoucauld says these words, and at first glance, it seems to not make sense. What he means is that jealousy comes from wanting what another has. This relates to self-love because to want more is to see yourself as deserving of more. There are many layers that make us feel ashamed of that desire for more, but I suggest that those morals are presented to us in order to reduce conflict, and misplacing blame for an unhappy life. However, I think that when you see beneath the jealousy the love you have for yourself, it can relieve a lot of the interpersonal tension. Then it can make you pause long enough to realize that you even wish that the people around you could have good and plentiful lives too. That helps you turn that jealousy into energy to use towards changing systems in the world to help the betterment of yourself and others around you.

"Jealousy springs more from love of self than from love of another."

~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld