The Underlying Nature of Envy and its Various Shapes

When we socialize, we come across many people. Some have charming personalities, others are brilliantly intelligent. They invoke multiple feelings and emotions; either we are fascinated by their charms or we are overawed by their personalities and get confused and are unable to identify those feelings. Those who are inspired and seek to develop such traits in themselves to be as appealing and alluring as those people are but on the contrary, there are some people who become uncomfortable and try to find some shortcomings among those, apparently perfect personalities, and this is the first symptom of a deadly evil commonly known as Envy. It is often hidden in many layers, even unfathomable for the person who is the victim of this evil.

Envy is the deadliest of all the evils of personality and can harm a person more than any other evil as it affects his ability to think and act in a normal, rational, and reasonable way. The worst part is that it makes its victim devoid of all the positive energy and takes him away like an avalanche that sweeps everything that comes its the way. The nature of envy is really complex and it is often deep-rooted in our unconscious mind that is why it becomes very difficult to uproot it. It harms both; its victim and also the person you are envious of as people mostly take certain steps which ruin both parties. Once it gets settled and takes roots it spreads like wild grass and can never be cleared or even trimmed. It is destructive in its very nature and can destroy our consciousness, decision-making, actions, and productivity.

There are many aspects of envy as it affects us in many ways. The first and foremost effect is the one that damages our soul. It makes us restless and anxious and peace gradually swifts away from our personality. Envy is the biggest cause of our anxieties though we never accept or admit to the factor in fact we are never aware of it. It dehumanizes our souls as it not only turns us into evil but also takes our goodness away from us. As Islam says, ‘envy destroys our virtues as fire burns the wood’.

An envious person often develops a stubborn attitude which leads to rigidity and the man is unable to differentiate between right and wrong. One feels that whatever he says or does is right and the rest is wrong. The wrong path that he takes, seems to be right, justified, and truthful.  One does not remain in the driving seat, rather envy is the driving force that always leads to chaos. He loses control. This behavior takes him away from his near and dear ones and he loses many relations which are the real beauty of life. Envy ultimately snatches the ability to see the beauty around us and fills our surroundings with the ugliness of our own minds.

When one is begrudged or envious, his potential gets rusted and his faculties die out. He focuses more on others who are successful or intelligent rather than shaping his own skills. He mostly spends his time in ill thoughts and the brook of freshwater is turned into a dirty stagnant pool that stinks. Envy makes him feel that his failures are the result of someone else’s success. It blinds his eyes and wit to see the reality. One is never able to discover the treasure that is hidden within him and on the contrary, he wastes his time burning in the fire of envy.

Positivity in thinking and actions can save us from the stings of envy otherwise we not only lose our best friends but make enemies and the biggest enemy of a man is the envious man himself. If one is able to develop the habit of appreciating beauty, acknowledging the qualities of others, and sharing happiness, he can be the happiest man free of all the evils, especially from envy. A loving heart and caring mind are necessary to be a good human being and a good soul can be anything but not envious of anything rather it tries to be the best among the best.  By promoting love, passion for selflessness, and sacrifice, we can make this world a better place.