Envious Emotions

9/1/2022

My Seven Secrets of Poetry pdf dropped today and, like anyone who finishes up a project, I thought of something I should have added to it!

Well, on second thought, I guess I'm rather glad that I left it out! It's an important, if often bitter, aspect of art and poetry. Yes, I'm talking about envy. Jealousy. And competition.

And the reason I'm glad that I left this topic out of the Seven Secrets of Poetry pdf is because, even though it's a super important topic, it's not something that you can easily deal with or edit away, even figuratively speaking. There's no secret for beating it on either side.

Most of us will face some form of envy or jealousy on a regular basis throughout our careers as poets. The envy can be a feeling we have for others or it can be a feeling others have for us. In either case, there some general points to keep in mind, that seem to hold true regardless of particulars:

Envy is an animating emotion. People who feel it, seldom do so passively. If someone envies you, one indication might be that they are frequently an influence in your life even if you don't expect them to be.
Envy isn't actually about wanting to be like someone else; it's about wanting to be more than them. There's a desire involved that doesn't stop at equality.
Envy combined with love and respect is where true learning and wisdom begin.
Envy without love and respect usually leads to bitterness and sometimes much worse.
Envy requires massive investments of time. If you put a clock on your own feelings of intense envy and kept a careful count, you'd find that even envying one person can take up hours of your day.
Envy is ultimately based on yourself, not others. What you're feeling when you envy someone is actually recognition of your own unrealized potential.

Notice that I didn't say much about how to deal with people who envy you. That's because it's a lot easier than dealing with your own feelings of envy.

If people envy you, make them feel like kings and queens in your presence and truly be an inspiration.

But, you know, watch your back.

When you envy others, try to use it as a light to your own potential. Fight to be the best poet you can be.

Yes, poets seems to trigger a lot of envy, among themselves and among non-poets. it's a truly strange phenomenon. If you have any thoughts about it, drop me a line...

Meanwhile, check out my Seven Secrets of Poetry pdf!!! Consider helping me out at Patreon -- and follow me at Twitter @BlackstonDan

Creativity & Reflections
by Daniel E. Blackston