I've gone through a lot of changes over the past few years. I graduated from law school and began my career as an attorney. I moved from Washington, DC to Oregon to Mississippi and back to DC. I fell in love, got married, and moved into a house with my wife. I started sharing my writing by blogging.
While all of these changes have been significant, perhaps nothing has affected my life more than this single thought: contentment.
Why we avoid contentment.
Contentment isn't something often talked about these days. More than anything, we hear about chasing dreams and pursuing passions. We're told to save for the next purchase, work for the next promotion, plan for the next life change -- whether college, marriage, home-ownership, children, or retirement.
Truth be told, contentment is a foreign concept for most of us. If anything, we're perpetually discontent, because to be content is to be okay with standing still.
And standing still means dying. Right?
But who wants to be discontent?
After years of chasing goals and dreams and passions, I came to a life-changing realization.
If I'm always looking to add, I'll never appreciate what I have. And if I never appreciate what I have, I'll never feel satisfied. And if I'm never satisfied, I'll always feel restless and unsettled and discontented.
But I don't want to always look for something else to fill me. I don't want to always feel restless and unsettled. I don't want to spend my entire life unsatisfied.
I want to be content.
Contentment is...
So what is contentment?
It doesn't mean surrendering your hopes, dreams, passions, and goals. Instead, it's simply needing nothing else to make you whole.
Contentment is finding meaning in every moment. Because every moment is just as valuable as the next and the next and the next...
Contentment is appreciating the world around you, taking in the beauty of life and all of creation.
Contentment is not obsessing with the future -- the day you'll finally get the perfect job or perfect spouse or perfect child or house or car -- because life is best lived in the present.
Contentment is not consuming yourself with the "good old days."
Contentment is savoring every conversation, every interaction, every subtle plot twist in your life.
In short, contentment is living life... right here, right now.
A version of this post originally appeared at PaulPerkins.com.
Paul Perkins writes about living intentionally at PaulPerkins.com. Connect with him on Facebook, and get a free copy of his eBook, The Art of Creating, about developing your artistic craft.
from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1pfKsIj
via IFTTT
While all of these changes have been significant, perhaps nothing has affected my life more than this single thought: contentment.
Why we avoid contentment.
Contentment isn't something often talked about these days. More than anything, we hear about chasing dreams and pursuing passions. We're told to save for the next purchase, work for the next promotion, plan for the next life change -- whether college, marriage, home-ownership, children, or retirement.
Truth be told, contentment is a foreign concept for most of us. If anything, we're perpetually discontent, because to be content is to be okay with standing still.
And standing still means dying. Right?
But who wants to be discontent?
After years of chasing goals and dreams and passions, I came to a life-changing realization.
If I'm always looking to add, I'll never appreciate what I have. And if I never appreciate what I have, I'll never feel satisfied. And if I'm never satisfied, I'll always feel restless and unsettled and discontented.
But I don't want to always look for something else to fill me. I don't want to always feel restless and unsettled. I don't want to spend my entire life unsatisfied.
I want to be content.
Contentment is...
So what is contentment?
It doesn't mean surrendering your hopes, dreams, passions, and goals. Instead, it's simply needing nothing else to make you whole.
Contentment is finding meaning in every moment. Because every moment is just as valuable as the next and the next and the next...
Contentment is appreciating the world around you, taking in the beauty of life and all of creation.
Contentment is not obsessing with the future -- the day you'll finally get the perfect job or perfect spouse or perfect child or house or car -- because life is best lived in the present.
Contentment is not consuming yourself with the "good old days."
Contentment is savoring every conversation, every interaction, every subtle plot twist in your life.
In short, contentment is living life... right here, right now.
A version of this post originally appeared at PaulPerkins.com.
Paul Perkins writes about living intentionally at PaulPerkins.com. Connect with him on Facebook, and get a free copy of his eBook, The Art of Creating, about developing your artistic craft.
from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1pfKsIj
via IFTTT
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