i've been thinking so much about contentment lately. if there is one thing in my life that i want to learn to perfection and have said of me, it's that i knew how to be content.
i've discovered through my time of unemployment {and my current situation of financial catch-up} that i need far less than i ever thought i did. i'm not talking about survival. i'm just talking about the things we have and keep and buy and borrow and try and store and consume. i had to let go of many of those frivolous things while money was tight, and now that i am making money again, i have no desire {or far less of one, anyway} to go acquire those same kinds of things.
i was joking with a friend last night on the phone about wanting to be wealthy and lead a life where money is no object. but then i remembered reading somewhere that the average american is more wealthy than 75% of the population, and i was reminded how good i have it.
another good friend of mine has really opened my eyes lately to a lot of silly thinking about how society or media or even peers make us think we should look a certain way or have certain things. not that having things that we can afford is wrong, but having them for the wrong reason is. it's made me look closer at why i feel i have to have some of the things i do.
there are a few things i really want because i really need them--like a new computer so that i can start doing freelance graphic design out of my home. but other than that, i've come to a really good place where i feel i don't need anything else. i like that.
and this could even be applied in non-materialistic areas. yes... i have desires, like wanting children. but even in these types of areas, i am learning to be content with where i am at. that makes me glad. i don't want to be an old woman when i've finally learned that. i want to master it now.
my standards have changed. they may change again. but right now, i'm realizing that my life may not be perfect. but i've got it pretty good, and it will do just fine.
with that, {sorry for getting all personal on you} i hope you have a wonderful weekend, and i hope you find peace and contentment somewhere in its hours and minutes, where you are at, with what you have right now.
9 comments:
We were without electricity here for 8 hours tonight due to heavy wet snow and ice, and as the house "cooled" down, I was reminded of how very much I take for granted. And I thought of all the people in the world that have no homes ... no heat ... no nothing. And the workers that were out in the cold dark night restoring the power. Oh yes, Georgia, learning to be content is right up there in importance. As you said ... we have so much compared to the rest of the world.
i am so with you on this Georgia and i also am on a journey of practicing the art of contentment. for me a mindfulness and awareness of how lucky i am makes me value all i have... it's the optomistic view too... cup half full instead of half empty... i heard a wonderful talk recently about simple living.. the speaker had travelled to a poor community in peru where she was greated with warmth, love and open arms like she had never previously known. what stuck in my mind was that she highlighted that to the people she met things wern't important but people were, where as in the more affulent societies often people put possessions and aquiring money higher than connecting with their fellow human beings.
have a beautiful weekend... and Happy Hallowe'en... boo!
my friends call me a minimalist. we just don't make a lot of money, so i feel like we can do without a lot of things. i think that over the last ten years there are things we need and things we want. and i am so content with just the things we need, especially each other. i believe that so much is accomplished just through that. i hope that i live and continue to live with that. my heart doesn't seem clouded that way.
Wonderful, heartfelt post, Georgia! It sounds like you're well on the road to contentment and peace. I'm in a very contented spot just now... I is amazing to consider the modern life and the the wrappings and trappings that come with. Even after decades and decades of society change, where wealth is the ideal of plenty, what is real wealth are the simple things that money can't buy--that's where real abundance lies, I think. In knowing what you really need, and what you don't. Thanks for sharing what's been on your heart and mind, Georgia. Happy weekend :o) ((HUGS))
My dear friend, it sounds like you're finding what you seek. I, too, was reminded how much I have while I was in Egypt.
Contentment...I think I am going to make that my word of the year for 2010...beautifully written dear Georgia...
Georgia, this post really struck a chord with me. It seems we are on a similar journey right now, trying to figure out where we belong and be at peace with where we are. I'm so glad I found you and your blog. It's nice to feel like I've got a buddy on the path.
I'm on the verge of a big change in my professional life has led me to examine what I need and what I want. It seems I want A LOT of things, but I'm trying to be okay with what I've got and appreciate the important things in life: love, laughter, health.
I have always been blessed with so much...and lately, the materialistic things just don't matter much to me anymore....
I just need my computer and phone...camera and ipod....and a great bed to lay my body on at night and I'm good....
well...and of course my family, but that goes without saying....
Oscar Wilde said it best: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." & "Oridinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."
&, my personal favorite (that I use quite often but has absolutely nothing to do with this topic of neccesity vs. desire at all:) " I am so clever that sometimes I don't understant a single word of what I am saying." Oh, that quote is just perfectly perfect in my book. :)
With that, Wilde knew one or two things about excess, of course. As we all do. But I often think you don't realize what you really need until you have everything. And so much of it. That's the crux though, isn't it?
Anyhoo, a great post. But contentment is a gossamer thing. At least for me. I can never keep a hold of it long enough. Let me know if you can. I hope you do. :)
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