There is an concept in Spanish, used by Mexicans, called "good kind of envy". Many argue that envy is envy and as such it's a negative emotion, so there is no "good kind" of it. However, when you interact enough with people from Mexico, or immerse yourself in Mexican Culture in any other way, you start to understand the feeling that lies behind this seemingly contradictory term.
Envy is usually paired with some sort of malice. You want someone someone else has, and as result you wish the person that has it to suffer or lose the given thing. Envy makes you have negative feelings for the person you envy. In the lightest of cases, envy makes you feel bad about yourself for not what having the coveted item. But what happens when you don't have that kind of negative feeling attached to the wanting of the item?
It is possible to want something someone else has or someone else enjoys and also feel happy for the person, or feeling good about yourself for the prospect of maybe getting that too. You experience good kind of envy when something good happens to someone you love. A loved one gets an amazing job, or wins a raffle, or goes on a superb trip, wins an award or a scholarship. This can be things you wish for yourself too, but it doesn't make you bitter that someone you love has gotten them. It makes you happy for them.
The concept of "good kind of envy" is buit upon the community feeling, where you can honestly be happy for others, enjoy the success of others, and share other people's happiness. A world too concentrated on individualism, where everything is reduced to a "zero summ" formula, with an us vs them mentality, this concept is alien, incomprehensible. But if we begin to see others as equal to us, and further realize that we are all equiped with the same emotions, then maybe we will also get to feel this good kind of envy. I know I'll keep believing in this concept with all my heart.
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