October 17
As long as a feeling works darkly within you, you suffer it; but as soon as you see through it clearly and distinctly, it is no longer mere suffering.
Ethics (freely rendered)
Listening mode
As long as a feeling works darkly within you, you suffer it; but as soon as you see through it clearly and distinctly, it is no longer mere suffering.
Someone shows you a piece of work that has turned out well, and you respond more coolly than you meant to. Only later do you find a word for the ill humour: envy. The word is unpleasant, but it makes the matter more precise. With the work itself you had hardly any fault to find.
That does not make the feeling go away. You can understand what set it off and still wish you had managed something similar yourself. But the other person no longer has to stand in for that wish.
Perhaps you look at the work again – and, alongside the comparison, notice a detail that genuinely interests you. Both can be there at once: your resentment and your admiration. You have recognised the one. Yet that need not make the other suspect.
