Having fewer relatives at home is also a blessing.—Greek poet. Nande

A literary figure also said: “Wealth and honor bring outsiders together, poverty and lowliness drive relatives away.”

I used to think that relatives are the best gift given to us by the world, and that this relationship doesn’t require deliberate maintenance, remaining unchanged when we meet.

As time goes by and we experience more, we find ourselves interacting more frequently with other relatives, only to discover that many of them don’t actually want you to do better than them.

Relatives who are always on your mind sometimes kick you when you’re down and sometimes take advantage of your success.

They look down on you when you’re poor and feel jealous when you’re doing better than them.

I used to think that the sayings about doubting relatives were all lies, but now I understand the truth behind them. Those sayings are indeed sharp and to the point.

A teacher told a story like this:

She said she had a friend with whom she had a very close relationship. One day, this friend came to visit her at school, and she invited the friend to have a meal since the friend had come from afar.

While they were chatting happily, the friend suddenly asked her, “Are you doing well recently?” She replied, “I’m doing quite well.”

Then the friend said to her, “I hope you’re doing well, but I hope you’re not doing better than me.”

After hearing this, Chen Guo, the teacher, felt that this friend might only be capable of such superficial interactions and not capable of deeper connections.

Friends are like this, and sometimes relatives are too.

Some relatives hope you don’t do well, some hope you do well, but not better than them.

The relatives we never forget gradually reveal their selfishness as life goes on.

When I was very young, I loved playing with my relatives’ children.

In my heart, I always regarded my relatives as my closest people.

But as I grew up, I found that everything had changed. The relatives I used to play with have also changed a lot.

When I was in college, a relative from our family was also going to college. At that time, they always asked me where I was studying, and when I mentioned the name of my college, my aunt’s expression changed.

Because their child did very poorly in college, they didn’t want me to attend a better one.

What’s incomprehensible is, even if I go to a better school than their child, so what? Is it not good for a relative’s child to do well?

Yes, sometimes the actions of relatives are incomprehensible, but that’s how they are.

I always thought that having more relatives means more opportunities. If a relative’s child attends a good college, they might be able to help other relatives in the future. Why be so narrow-minded!

The actions of some relatives are hard to understand. They are willing to help a stranger’s child get into a good school, but are not willing to let their own relatives’ children do better.

My mother often told me, “Relatives should help each other, and they should all wish the best for each other.”

But how many people actually think this way?

Most people don’t want their relatives to do better than themselves. Such people not only have narrow minds, but also end up worse off than others.

A writer once said, “Relatives are very selfish. When you have no utility, relatives will abandon you.”

If people were less selfish with each other, things might be much better.

Relatives are the best gifts given to us by God, but many people don’t treat this gift well.

Sometimes, if you think about it the other way around, even if you don’t want someone to do better than you, you can’t control their life. You may not want someone to do better than you, but they might just do better.

So, you’re only torturing yourself with your own jealousy, making yourself restless.

Therefore, only those with a kind heart can treat others well, and also treat themselves well. When you treat others well, your heart is generous, and you won’t feel too much sorrow or discontent.

When you turn 30, many things become insignificant.

Some relatives never want you to do well, and you shouldn’t take it to heart.

It’s only when you take things lightly that you can truly be happy. Don’t have high expectations for relatives, and you won’t be disappointed.

When relatives treat you poorly, don’t resent them. Resentment won’t solve the problem; it will only make you miserable. And when relatives are kind to you, don’t try to rely on them for everything.

Always keep a clear mind, no matter what. A person over 30 should have their own thoughts. If you let external factors control your thinking after 30, then you will never have a better life than your relatives.

In this life, you still have to rely on yourself. With effort, you can make your family better. It’s better to do better than your relatives than to do worse.

Because when you do better than your relatives, they only envy you; when you do worse than your relatives, they will look down on you.

It’s better to be envied by relatives than to be looked down upon.