Pablo Mera

“There are people who, when confronted with something that exceeds their own measure, instinctively attempt to render it invisible.

This impulse is not confined to wealth, social standing, education, or cultural refinement. It springs from something far more primitive: an intrinsic envy, a childish jealousy that survives long after childhood itself has passed.

The wealthy grow accustomed to their wealth, the poor to their poverty, the learned to their learning, and the social elite to the rhythms of their privileged circles. In time, each settles comfortably into his own station and comes to regard it as the natural order of things. Yet when faced with someone or something that rises beyond that familiar horizon, many respond not with admiration but with resentment. Whatever surpasses them becomes difficult to accept.

At times, the object of envy stands so far removed from the envious person's world that this dormant instinct never awakens. On other occasions, however, neither distance nor the nature of the relationship matters. The mere existence of someone perceived as superior in some respect is enough to provoke discomfort, and sometimes even silent suffering.

Such is the curious frailty of human nature: many people can tolerate inequality, provided they remain convinced that no one too close to them has risen above the limits they have quietly accepted for themselves.”
― Pablo Mera, THE LUCID MISFIT'S HANDBOOK: Exploring The Voluntarily Invisible in our Shared Life