FLATTERY
COUNTERFEIT OF MUDITA
Mudita's sentence with mudita's ingredient removed — 'so happy for you', said with no string sounding. The words are identical from outside. Inside, the praise is a transaction: credit banked with the fortunate, or a hand laid on their shoulder from slightly above.
THE TELL
Say it where they can't hear you. Mudita sounds the same in an empty room. Flattery has no reason to.
FORMULA DIFF
- −Joy
nothing rang — the string was not struck
- −“their joy is also mine”
their joy is not yours; it is an account, and this is a deposit
- +Serotonin
rank — standing next to the winner, or a hand on the shoulder from slightly above
- Oxytocin
THE GENUINE ARTICLE
MUDITA
Joy at other people's joy — the rarest of the four immeasurables, and the exact antidote to comparison and the loneliness of the far shore.
TRAINED BY — Trained on easy targets first: children winning, strangers succeeding. Works upward toward rivals.
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