Does the grass on the other side often seem greener to you?

Question

Does the grass on the other side often seem greener to you?
Do we sometimes covet for an existence or a livelihood different from the ones we have? How happy are you with the life you are living now?

Answer

Shah, in a way, youve asked two, very different questions, because the expression about the grass being greener goes with what you refer to as quotcovetquotas in coveting what another hasoften including the the wish that the other person no longer have it.brAs in coveting ones neighbors goods, wife, husband....the extreme desire for what belongs to another.brbrYet, youre also asking, if Im correct, quotIs there another life or way of life or anything, basically, the answering person wishes were different, from what she is living now?quot To me, these are very different questions.brbrLet me address the one you started with, the one that deals with covetousness, if I may.brbrWe all have our flaws and our virtues, and I have always felt so, so blessed that jealousy or envy was never one of my flaws I actually would think about how lucky that wasalways to want the best for all never to want what others had, or ever, ever to wish they had less.brbrId never have survived my childhood, had I been thinking about the childhoods of others. Perhaps thats where it began, or maybe it began with the incredible need Ive always had to keep growing and educating myselfno time to look at what others are doing, literally.brbrComparison just is not where its quotatquot for me. I compete with me, and I compare todays accomplishments only to what I may have accomplished or quotshouldquot have accomplished, or I dont even compare at all. Sometimes, I just say a zillion words of gratitude and thanks to the Powers that Be, for the gifts and abilities that I am lucky to have.brbrHaving been a political activist all my life, I am all too aware of the pain and suffering in my country U.S. and in the rest of the world, not to have been forever grateful for what I have been given, for what I came into this world with. brbrI remember the words of the nuns, quotJust think, you couldve have been born without eyesight, with no legs.quot They were great teachers of good values we would spend several days a year being a challenged person, having to walk around all day with a blindfold, or with one hand behind our back, as if we had been born sightless, born with one arm, and I learned priceless lessons.brbrTo put it differently, perhaps, I know all too well that Im a quotluckyquot person, a, if you will, blessed, person my problem is pushing me, not appreciating how quotgreen the grassquot is in meguilt for not always being the most I can be with the gifts Ive been given.brbrAs for the quotpastures,quot of others, I feel deep, sometimes unfathomable, sorrow for the billions living in unlivable conditions, in war and in famine, and for those doing well, I have only two thoughtsbr. Would that all people could be doing well. I wish everyone the best and happiest and most creative and productive, loving and rewarding a life a person could possibly have, andbr. I so wish that those with much wealth would learn that they didnt quotearnquot it, that it wasnt quotduequot to them, and that they would give most of it away to those in need, and save only what is necessary for a peaceful, reasonable, comfortable life. brUnfettered capitalism has gotten out of hand, in other words, and it is time for a reevaluation of the distribution of wealthbut, again, this is not personal to me, except in my sense of fairness and deeply in my sorrow for the suffering and pooryet it IS very personal for my sense of justice, decency and my love of humankind.brbrAnd your third question Am I happy with the life I am living now?brbrShah, to me, quothappyquot is a somewhat shallow or elusive concept. If one is grounded, productive, loved, loving, giving, valued and valuable in what one does for others, then one is who she must be. brbrSometimes, we are happy sometimes we are not. To me, thats the human condition, no matter what our circumstances, no matter what choices we make and have made. It is more important to me to be courageous and loyal and useful than to be happyor even more specifically It has always been my experience that quothappinessquot comes as a sideeffect, a nice result of a job welldone, of a cultivated, meaningful relationship it never exists just for the taking.brbrAnd, on a more personal note Im an artist we would never be good, if we didnt live with a certain dissatisfaction we would never improveand lastly, to be quothappyquot in a country run by liars and warmongers, to be quothappy,quot when others are suffering, Im not so sure is the right thing to be.brbrMay I quote? brWhile there is a lower class, I am in it. While there is a criminal element, I am of it. While there is a soul in prison, I am not free.brandbrquot...no artist is pleasedthere is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.brand one doesnt have to be quotmore alivequot to get back to your question, but an artist must be vital, and that, thank goodness, I am.br