Covet

I went to bed wondering, “Why is THOU SHALT NOT COVET such a big deal? Murder, lies, theft, adultery and the rest I understand, but covet—really?”

To covet is to desire, to yearn for, to have one’s heart set upon, to want, to wish or to long for something one does not posses. A person who covets eventually finds oneself experiencing feelings of anger, envy, resentment, jealousy and bitterness. These are the yields of comparison.

In contrast, the ability to accept and be comfortable in one’s current circumstance while also being happy for or even celebrating others in their circumstance may be one of life’s greatest virtues.

When one accepts that his neighbor’s grass is often greener; he stops peering over the fence.  Regardless of the actual appraisal, the person participating tends to place himself as the lesser: it’s human nature.

Those who reside in the winner’s circle of life typically don’t participate in the act of paralleling oneself to others—rather they rise above as they have better things to do. Because time is not wasted passing judgment between oneself and another, the result may be a richer life of liberating happiness and contentment.

Since no mental, physical, emotional or psychological energy is wasted on anger, bitterness, jealousy and all its accompanying fruits, one’s natural capacity is toward maximization: being the person who somehow schedules 35 hours into a 24-hour day; whereas, one full of yearning, longing for, desire toward someone else’s situation wastes away the day and, with weighted drudgery, endures a lesser, even 18-hour-a-day-life.

Happy people are naturally industrious and effortlessly produce more each day.

Is that why a God can live eternally? Is he or she so content that he or she can schedule 1,000 or 10,000 years into one of our 24-hour days?

Though I can run long distances (of course I will throw in a running analogy), I am not an actual runner. I have no idea how to train, eat, sleep, recover, stretch, practice, hydrate or dress successfully--even appropriately. I marvel daily that I manage to keep putting one front in front of the other, and even participate in events such as marathons and ultra-marathons.

Because of tonight’s musings, I now realize I can run 50 miles or even 100 miles at a time, because: I ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I AM ACTUALLY RUNNNG THAT FAR. I don’t fight it, resist it, rush it, hate it, dream about not doing it, and wish I were elsewhere or deny it. I accept that I am running (this can apply to any circumstance of life) and try to find ways to enjoy the long run rather than despise it. In three years, I have run dozens of marathons and ultra-marathons. The two I hated, though they were just as difficult or easy as the others, I did not finish.

Accepting my daily situation and finding happiness in my abilities causes me to experience depths of joy, delight, and satisfaction in both congratulating the champions of races and appreciating the winners in life.

Indeed I have much to learn and much to celebrate.