"I felt jealous."
Noa said quietly. Unusually showing emotion outwardly.
"Of what?" Ren asked.
"A friend won an award. I couldn't genuinely be happy."
Haru was surprised. "Even you feel jealous, Noa?"
"I'm human."
Ren pondered. "Is jealousy bad?"
"I think so. I should honestly celebrate my friend."
"But you feel it anyway," Haru said. "I have that too."
"Is feeling itself evil?" Ren asked. "Or is action evil?"
Noa looked up. "What's the difference?"
"Emotion is a natural reaction. The brain produces it automatically. But action can be chosen."
"So feeling jealous is unavoidable?"
"Spinoza thought so. Emotions have no good or evil. Only useful or harmful."
Haru tilted her head. "Jealousy can be useful?"
"Depends," Ren continued. "If jealousy motivates self-improvement, it's useful. If it motivates attacking others, it's harmful."
Noa understood. "Not the emotion itself, but how we handle it."
"Exactly."
"But," Haru had doubts. "Feeling jealous makes me dislike myself."
"Why?"
"I think I'm narrow-minded."
Ren answered. "That's because you're morally evaluating the emotion."
"Shouldn't I evaluate?"
"You're free to evaluate, but suppressing emotions distorts them."
Noa supplemented. "Acknowledging jealousy and following jealousy are different."
"Acknowledge?"
"Be aware 'I am jealous.' Don't deny it."
Haru thought. "If I acknowledge it, will it be easier?"
"Not necessarily. But you can deal with it."
Ren showed a philosophical perspective. "Aristotle sought the mean in emotions."
"The mean?"
"A moderate state, neither excessive nor deficient. For jealousy, moderate competitive spirit is good, but excessive hostility is bad."
"But where is 'moderate'?" Noa asked.
"Depends on context. Situation, relationships, impact..."
"Vague."
"Ethics is vague," Ren admitted. "That's why judgment is difficult."
Haru suddenly thought. "Isn't jealousy a result of natural selection?"
"What do you mean?"
"To survive competition, we perceive others' success as a threat. Evolutionarily advantageous."
Noa showed interest. "A naturalistic explanation."
"But is it permissible because it's natural?" Ren asked.
"Not permissible?"
"There are many natural impulses. Violence, possessiveness... But controlling them with reason is human."
"So should we control jealousy too?"
"You can't stop feeling it. But you can control actions."
Noa said quietly. "I felt jealous, but I said congratulations."
"That's important," Ren nodded. "Separating emotion and action."
"But in my heart, I'm jealous. Isn't that hypocrisy?" Haru asked.
"A bit different from hypocrisy," Noa answered. "Even with jealousy in my heart, I chose to respect the friendship."
"Which is the true feeling?"
"Both," Ren said. "Humans hold multiple emotions simultaneously."
"Contradictory."
"Being contradictory is human."
Haru felt a bit relieved. "So feeling jealous isn't evil?"
"Feeling itself isn't evil," Noa said. "But being dominated by it is dangerous."
"How to not be dominated?"
"Be aware," Ren answered. "'I am jealous. But that's not everything.'"
Noa smiled. "Observe the emotion. Don't get caught up in it."
"Mindfulness?"
"One method."
Rain began falling outside the window. Jealousy, like rain, falls naturally. But we can hold an umbrella.
"It's okay to feel jealous," Haru murmured.
"But how you handle it matters," Ren said.
"Coexist with emotions," Noa added.
The three fell silent. Listening to the sound of rain called jealousy.