I’ve been single for a while now yet the idea of jealousy, what it is, what it represents, how to handle it and its advantages and disadvantages has been chasing me around for a while now!
As the dictionary defines it:
“Jealousy typically refers to the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that occur when a person believes a valued relationship is being threatened by a rival. This rival may have no knowledge of threatening the relationship.
The word stems from the French jalousie, formed from jaloux (jealous), and further from Low Latin zelosus (full of zeal), and from the Greek word for "ardour, zeal" (with a root connoting "to boil, ferment"; or "yeast"). Jealousy is a familiar experience in human relationships. It has been reported in every culture and in many forms where researchers have looked. It has been observed in infants as young as 5-6 months old and in adults over 65 years old.”
As for me, the term itself presents a dilemma…
At university, in my Interpersonal Communication course, Dr. Mohsen stressed that jealousy is the lack of trust in yourself and your partner and it is in no way a sign of love. My ex-boyfriend strongly agreed!
Still, I see things differently.
I see a beautiful girl who is smart, funny and confident lose grip of rationality when she sees the man she loves flirting with another girl and I see a handsome, caring, loving, giving and intellectual man get annoyed by his girlfriend’s male friends though he knows they are in no way a competition for her heart!
So, what does that mean?
I believe too much or too little of anything is bad for you!
Take alcohol for example: some of it might help reduce the risk of heart problems while a lot of it can cause you liver damage and other serious problems.
Or how about sleep? The simple act of closing your eyes and just drifting to dreamland… Too little of it will cause you lack of concentration and fatigue!
Now think with me: what is it do you really prefer? No jealousy at all or some that shows that he/she do care and do not take you for granted? |
