#Envy

Envy is the petty deity in our hearts that insists the grass on the other side is eternally greener. It measures our self-worth with the yardstick of others’ achievements, casting a long shadow of inadequacy. Under the guise of self-improvement, it inflates self-loathing until we crave crumbs of satisfaction. It conjures phantom flames from another’s fortune to burn our sense of reason to ash. Forever convinced we are the underdog in a rigged competition, envy ensures our own successes feel hollow.

Jealousy is a spectator sport in which one exposes oneself to another's happiness and tremblingly questions the foundation of self-esteem. It justifies petty inner conflicts and drags in innocent bystanders under the guise of fairness. A spiteful gauge that peers covetously at a neighbor's success and insists on measuring one's worth by another's downfall. It sullies emotions meant to bind love and connection with the grime of control and suspicion. In the end, no one truly wins, as everyone runs a self-loathing marathon.