Jealousy – a reader’s digest

Janet Hardy wrote a very interesting chapter on jealousy in one of her books (that was just yesterday brought to my attention).

Here is a quick summary of the whole chapter in words and a picture.

The ‘best’ way to do deal with the natural emotion of jealousy is to practice detachment (from the fear of loss), dialogue (over arguing), and to practice the practice of dealing with jealousy in this way (over not practicing).

Like anything other human skill there are means and ways to achieve anything, but these take practice.

By ‘best’ the author implied that the ability to not control a loved one through jealous behaviour gives better outcomes for everyone involved. With the usual unfortunate statistical outliers and all that.

In a relationship, the alternative is to practice ‘fortified monogamy’ (my term). Janet thinks this is just too hard to sustain and not that good for the development of a soul. And not very interesting either, she reckons.