day no. 15,095: self-pity is pride in the heart of the weak

"Self-pity is pride in the heart of the weak" - Mark Arant

Pride is often imagined as a swollen sense of self manifested in bravado and assertion. But pride can just as easily manifest in timidity and seclusion. Pride is in love with itself. This typically is observed by those attempting to get others to love them as much as they already do. Hence, the boasts and an applause sign accompany them everywhere in every conversation.

But because pride is in love with itself, it can also take the form of attempting to get others to congratulate them by running themselves down. In this form, pride manipulates people not through self-congratulatory panache, but through self-deprecating pettiness. 

Strong people assert themselves and impose their love of self upon those around them, using their strength to get the audience to agree. Weak people insist upon feeling sorry for themselves because others do not applaud them as much as they wish they did. Weak people melt when their bravado doesn't work on others or even worse, when they can't seem to congratulate themselves for high achievement. So instead, they congratulate themselves for their humility and expect others to do the same.

Self-pity is never content with the pity it receives from itself. Because it is rooted in pride, it needs other people to notice and insists that they agree.