Learning Contentment

There's a word we don't hear all too often in our American society. But it's a word that can save us thousands of dollars, the benefit of our health, our relationships, and in many cases, our sanity.

What's the word?

Contentment. Yup, contentment. I know aMAZing, right? "Thanks, D.a. for that remarkable buildup for such a spectacular word."

But seriously....it's a great word.

Webster's defines contentment as, "the quality or state of being contented." Ummm... thanks Webster's... annnnnd contented is defined as, "feeling or showing satisfaction with one's possessions, status, or situation." So in essence, contentment is being happy with what we've got.

It sure seems like we live in a society overrun with marketing and media always telling us what we don't have. We don't have a new car. We don't have the latest TV or entertainment center. We don't have this month's newest mobile device. And we never will, because there is no end to it all. There is never going to be.

So just for a couple of seconds let's think about what ya got. Let's start with the basics. Do you have water? Do you have heat? Do you have shelter, or someone you could go to in a worst case scenario? Do you have food (or just in case, know where a food bank is)? Do you have transportation?

Many check these items off without batting an eye. But then again, at times, there are many of us who have had to actually get down to these very basic needs. And in this economy we are beginning to think more and more about these presumptions.

So minus these elements, everything else is unneccessary. Yup I said it. It is UN-Neccessary. You don't actually need it to survive. You don't NEED a new car to survive, but transportation is necessary, you don't Need a brand new set of clothes, but clothing is important (go to Value Village). You don't NEED to eat out, especially since eating in is typically healthier.

But let's take things one step further. It really doesn't matter what you have does it? Being content means being happy with what you have, regardless of what the list is. Happiness is a state of mind. It's a decision: a choice. Our happiness is a conclusion we make. We conclude to be happy with what we have, or we conclude not to.

In the end, contentment with what we have is far less costly than the pursuit of what others tell us we should have. And as Bertrand Russell put it, "The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real estate, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith."

Listening to Silence?

"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
~William Penn

We seem to be experts as noise these days, don't we? We have perfected the craft of interruptions, chaos, and stress. In the morning we wake up to an alarm clock, turn on the TV or radio to watch or hear the news, get into our cars and turn on the stereo, or put earbuds in our ears as we hop onto the bus or train. We get to work, listen to customers, office machines, cell phones, cars, trucks, and our bosses. We eat lunch talking with frineds only to return to our work and continue another half-the-day of the same thing.

Then we come home and turn on the TV, play video games, work on the computer, talk, go-out, maybe go to the gym where we listen to music as we work out. We finally crawl into bed, sometimes even sleeping to a fan blazing white-noise just to drown out the bustle around us.

Like ripples on the surface of a lake, we have become outstanding at splashing around, creating waves. But how often do we simply pause, stop, and wait... to let the ripples dissapate and clear and notice the beauty of a still, glassy lake?

I would like you all to listen to something with me, I only need ten seconds. Ready? Ok, here we go.

(Ten seconds of silence.)


Did you hear that? THAT was silence. Weird, huh? There was nothing to it and it didn't take you any effort to do. It didn't even cost you anything. Let's try it again, But before we begin, this time I'd like to ask you to think about your favorite place. That place you go to relax. One of mine is in the midwest in springtime when the snow forgives itself into a thousand glassy lakes mirroring the colors across the horizon with nobody but the wind and the wild as far as the eye can see.

So let's try this again. Think of your favorite place just for this next 10 seconds. Don't think about anything else.

Ready? Ok, here we go.

(Ten seconds of silence.)

There, wasn't that nice?

Some of you may remember the poem entitled "Disiderada". The writer who is still unknown begins by instructing, "Go placidly amidst the noise and the haste and remember what piece there may be in silence."

Remarkable words, wouldn't you agree? Remarkable, and challenging.