South San Francisco, CA November 25, 2023 by Elizabeth Nisperos, ESC Contributor
A psychologist tested a group of 100 people, placing a white canvas with a back dot in the middle and asked,” What do you see?”. All 100 folks answered, “A black dot.” None was mindful of the large white space around the black dot. In real life, we do the same thing; we forget all the good things we already possess but focus on the things we don’t have. Even in social media, one may receive a lot of positive comments but the one negative post may upset the owner.
If you’re focused on what others have or the blessings they receive, you brew envy. Socrates once wrote, “Envious persons grow lean at the fatness of their neighbors.” Trying to keep up with the Joneses. The grass is always greener on the other side.
Proverbs 14:30 NIV
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
The cure for envy is to release gratitude, and thanksgiving for all the things you already have. You may not have a Bentley or a Rolls Royce but you have a functional dependable Ford; no mansion but you have a home or an apartment to reside in; or you may not look like a fashion model but you’ve good health.
Your challenge for this Thanksgiving season is to list what you’ve got inside your house and the people encircling you. You’ll find out you’ve more than enough to be thankful for. You release gratitude, and you remember the kindness you’d receive. For example, some of my kind neighbors leave a bag of vegetables and fruits at my front door, sometimes plants and flowers.
Such kindness I cannot repay; there’s a saying “You can never repay the kindness you just pass, it on.” When you pass kindness, you spread joy.”
Happy Thanksgiving.
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About Elizabeth Nisperos
Elizabeth Nisperos’ is a long-time resident of South San Francisco and a lover of the arts and a regular contributor to Everything South City. A former Commissioner of our Cultural Arts Board, Nisperos’ love of beauty spans from the visual, written word, and song. She is an award-winning Calligraphist, among many other disciplined talents.