The Passion of the Four is Envy. Envy, in simple terms, is wanting what others have, or what others may be. It manifests in the Four, however, as not simply wanting what others have. It is really more that Fours experience a feeling of lack. Fours tend to look at others and feel that everyone is more successful, popular, normal, whatever, than they are. They feel that something fundamental is missing in them. This leads them to long for whatever is absent in their lives. It is very easy to want what we don't have and at times we may all feel that we are lacking in a particular area or that other people have something that we don't possess. The trouble is that too much of this can lead us to overlook the many wonderful things we do have. A focus on what we lack will eventually lead us to feel unhappy about ourselves and our lives. Fours are very conscious of their feelings. They are constantly monitoring their emotional weather to the extent that they can become self-absorbed, often using fantasy to reinforce their feelings. As a result of their tendency to look at others and feel somehow deficient, different or excluded in some way, Fours can create a certain melancholy if not actual depression. By getting caught up in negative comparisons they imagine disappointing and hurtful reactions that may have no bearing on reality. The irony is that the worse they feel, the more likely they are to look at others enviously, feeling that everyone else is happier, more sociable, has an easier life, whatever, than they do and so feel even worse about themselves. Fours have to understand that they are not the only people who suffer but that by concentrating on their own suffering they are creating their identity around it. This identity, this false self - in other words the ego - then feeds off the suffering because it reinforces it, only helping the Four to feel even more alienated, vulnerable and misunderstood. If Fours can work on creating some healthy self-discipline around whatever they enjoy doing so that they become more focussed in their pursuits, this will help them get out of themselves. They will also become more productive and, in so doing, start to appreciate that they have many precious gifts to offer the world.
Street Art in Paris
Comments