Today's Thought - April

[bluidkiti]

April 8

Never find your delight in another’s misfortune.

~Publilius Syrus

The German word “schadenfreude” means “delight in the troubles of another.” How many of us are guilty, in greater or lesser degree, of this unattractive habit of thinking? Sometimes, perhaps, it is sheer boredom that makes us perk up at news of someone else’s calamity. A fire, for instance, or a bad car accident often draws a crowd of onlookers who are more excited than they are empathetic.

But some of us actually find it more satisfying to observe another’s misfortunes than her triumphs. We’re quick to condemn and slow to commiserate. We don’t mind a bit when people “get what’s coming to them.” We like to see people “knocked off their high horse.” This assumes that we know two things we don’t know: (1) all the facts, and (2) what anybody deserves. “Schadenfreude” is a canker in the heart. If we find it there, we must root it out at once.

I will wish others well that I may reap what I sow.

Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy: Daily Meditations for Adult Children*