Fencing Bear at Prayer

"It is likely that you will overcome jealousy in proportion to the way you keep both your friends and enemies from being jealous of you.  As long as you are wanting them to be jealous of you, you reveal you are still jealous of them. But if you reach the place that it pains you for them to be jealous of you, it is a good thing. "Like it or not, people will be jealous of you.  'I have nothing that would make them jealous,' you may say.  But they will still be jealous of you.  They will find something.  There is that in you that makes another person envy.  You may not think it, but it is true.  You may have a low opinion of yourself, but there will be something about you--whether your appearance, personality, gifting, job, friends, background, or opportunities--which will make them envious.  You simply cannot make everybody like you. "It is our responsibility, when possible, to avoid the onslaught of jealousy from others.  We should never w...

According to R.T. Kendall, Jealousy: The Sin No One Talks About (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2010), in thirteen steps. Step One: Admit it to yourself . This is easy.  I know that I'm envious, jealous even.  It more or less defines my relationship with my siblings, and I have struggled for years with feeling envious of my colleagues and fellow fencers.  I am envious of my sister for being so beautiful , of my brother for his travels and his training in so many languages .  I am envious of my colleagues for the books that they have published and for their promotions to full professor, particularly those who have been promoted (unlike me) before publishing their second book .  You know, if you have been following me all these years on the blog, that I am envious of my fellow fencers , particularly those who have placed higher in tournaments than I have with fewer years of experience on the strip.   So, we're done with this step, right?  Wrong....