As mentioned earlier, mudita is also the opposite feeling to schadenfreude, the German word for the feeling of satisfaction or pleasure in hearing of others’ misfortune. Schadenfreude sees us in constant struggle of one against all others, and if someone else gets or accomplishes something, then we are somehow diminished, less successful, less acceptable, less lovable. Schadenfreude is natural outgrowth of envy. Mudita is a natural outgrowth of compassion.
Through the lens of schadenfreude, life is a zero-sum game. If I gain, someone else has to lose. If someone else gains, I have to lose. The net effect then, in aggregate, is that we all end up in a sort of listless mediocrity. If I take a step back every time you take a step forward, we don’t actually go anywhere. If I have to put you down to lift myself up, is it worth it?
Maybe that’s why I feel guilty when things go my way.
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