Time Capsule #31
On envy, English novels, and depression.
✏️ On Envy
Envy — one of the 7 deadly sins. Envy is a powerful emotion that can make us hold ill feelings towards those we have no good reason to despise. When we are young, it is not so easy to hide our envious feelings, but adults are much better at concealing them.
Envy is one of the most dangerous emotions. Anger and resentment can often be justified, and in many cases rightly so, but the origin of envy is always from a bad place: a pain caused by the good fortune of others. Excessive feelings of envy may be due to one not being comfortable with where they are in life and where they are headed. We are happiest when we are learning, growing, and see a pathway to a better future for ourselves. When there is too much of a divide between who you are and what you think you could/should be, that is when envy becomes an overpowering emotion. Therefore, the cure to envy is to look within — within ourselves, we can find the solutions to our problems and answers to our desires.
If anything is going to bring lasting change and happiness to our lives, it will have to be a change within ourselves, not a change in the outside world.
📸 Photo of the Week
The death of the old creates space for the new.
📖 Book of the Week — Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is one of the first English novels. It details the life of Robinson Crusoe, a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote island after leaving home against the pleas of his parents to choose a simple life at home — the path well-travelled. Written during the Enlightenment, the book has many spiritual and religious messages throughout — I actually found my copy at a Christian book store. I am enjoying the Old English style of writing and the relatable and absorbing story.
💭 Quote of the Week
I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
🔭 Sunday Best
Saving the Liberal Arts — a 17,000-word work of art by David Perell on the evolution of liberal arts, and what the liberal arts school of the future should look like.
Creating a Life of Meaning & Wisdom — a brilliant podcast on the crafting of a fulfilling life with Chris Williamson and John Vervaeke, Associate Professor at the University Of Toronto.
Marie Louise von Franz on Depression — is it a blessing?
💡 Food for Thought
Behind every face, there is a secret life.
Thank you.
AT