Are you Self-ish? By this I don’t mean inconsiderate to others; I mean seeing your-Self in others, and using other lives and other stories as a reference for what you are doing, or how well you are doing in your life and your story. The experience of seeing ourselves in others has many dimensions, and one is Envy.
When Envy is turned around, the ‘Other’, who appears to be doing better, may become a beacon on the horizon – something to aim for; so envy then becomes a positive emotion. One of the seven deadly sins, it may well be; but seen from a different view point it can be useful for making us aware of what is lacking in our lives; it can raise the bar on what we want to achieve.
Envy in Latin ‘Invidia’ translates as “non-sight,” its blindness is close to home – a blindness to what we already have. So there are two types of envy: one that is destructive, and one that is Self-building.
In the movies and the novels, the authors and directors position the character at the window – Take a closer look at your next movie, you will be surprised at how many times this happens. We project ourselves into that character at the window, we feel his loss, we feel her sadness, and we look out at what she is after. Everything about the angle and the view sets the scene to affect your feelings.
Longing is an emotion often portrayed at the window. It is heartfelt and melancholic, lacking the prefix to ‘be’; to ‘belong’ is a natural human desire. Without the ‘be’ you have only ‘longing’ and there is a feeling of loss or being lost.
There are many emotions that can be felt at the window. The windows in our lives may seem like pictures on our walls, but the difference is that they are never finished – there is always potential for change.
In the window as in life there are some things that cannot be changed – Perhaps you can only change what is nearest to you, and maybe that is enough. In my practice as homesouls consultant, I act like a mirror, re-framing the statements that my clients make – and this is followed by the exclamation aha! A realisation of something new, or significant or profound – A change of view.
So take a look out of your window – What do you see, and how does this scene affect you? Do you feel this emotion in other aspects of your life? Now step back and take a closer look at your window, what is its affect inside your home?
If this window was a painting about your view of life, how would you change it? The great thing about your window is that you can at least dress it, and when you see what you have done, it will remind you to take another view. I have many examples of how such a seemingly small shift in perspective is followed by a profound change in people’s lives, and at the end of May 2014 I have an exhibition at the Mission Gallery in Swansea. Earlier in May I will be running workshops in both Swansea and Cardiff; engaging people to take a peep at their life through their windows.
CIVIC 