Neighbours envy, Owners pride

 "Neighbours envy, Owners pride", this was a tagline of one of the prominent television brands in the 80's and 90's. As a kid, I never understood the meaning of envy, though I looked up the dictionary, the meaning was not well understood. As I grew up, slowly realized envy is an emotion that occurs when we lack something — whether it be a specific personal attribute or an object — that someone else has. Basically, Envy is the desire for something possessed by another, accompanied by a feeling of discontent or resentment

There is a subtle difference between Jealousy and Envy, and often these words are used interchangeably. Jealousy typically arises in situations involving perceived threats to a valued relationship or possession. It often involves a fear of losing something that is already possessed or enjoyed, such as a relationship, a status, or a possession.

Until now I used to think that these emotions are very much limited to humans. Yesterday I realised even animals are engulfed by these emotions. It was a Friday night and we were watching a movie, A few scenes were a little scary and my daughter got disturbed and came and sat in my lap. Cookie, who was taking a nap under the sofa woke up and saw my daughter in my lap. Cookie came out from under the sofa and started jumping and pushing my daughter away from my lap. Finally, my daughter got up and Cookie kept jumping until I picked her up.

Amidst our shared laughter at this amusing scenario, Cookie appeared content, relishing the attention she received while nestled in my arms. This incident was a reminder that emotions such as envy and jealousy transcend human boundaries and touch even the lives of our animal companions.