"On Contentment"

  

contentment:  n.  quality or state of being content

content:  adj. in a state of satisfaction; satisfied about a particular circumstance

The sun was out, a hint of warm even, with the temperature at 50 degrees, a welcome change from the freezing rain, ice storm, snow, and icy roads which have plagued my area for the past month.  Cleaning a house was on the schedule, but my client directed me to the back yard instead.

The space is filled with raised beds.  Several are filled with winter greens.  I set about weeding and removing leaves damaged by the freeze then headed to a bed of strawberries.  Methodically working my way around the bed with pruners and weeding tool, the thought struck me—“This is where I am most at peace.”

I am a farmer’s daughter.  Perhaps I have been in denial of that description.  It is so “earthy,” so unglamorous with not a single hint of sophistication.  And yet it is what and who I am.  Solitary work, on hands and knees in the dirt is where I am at home.  I am content there.

What, exactly, is contentment, and where can it be found?

For some, contentment can be an elusive thing.  Ever searching, ever striving for someone or something to bring about that sense of being settled, being at peace, of “feeling good,” one’s life can be in a constant upheaval, as though on a carousel, going round and round, up and down with the scenery never changing.

Consider the children.  Most families have had the Christmas gifting experience where, after all the thought, time, and money invested in choosing the “perfect” gift for a child, he/she finds an empty box and is completely entertained and enthralled, crawling in and out of it, placing it upon the head, putting bows or wrapping paper in it then dumping it and starting all over again.  That is contentment.  With no thought beyond the moment, no cares or concerns for what tomorrow might bring, it comes from within.  And either we are or we aren't--content, that is.
 

Take a child to a creek or the beach in the summertime, and he/she will spend hours creating channels and dams with the wet sand or dirt, collecting beautiful rocks or shells, shoveling with chunks of wood, discovering and checking out insects or frogs, the wildlife that is right under their noses.  That is contentment.  Simply living life, and the dollar expenditure—zero.  It cannot be bought.

I wonder sometimes if the concept, the idea of contentment ever enters the minds of most people.  Life is so hurried, so frenetic, mankind resembles ants in an anthill. Ever moving at a great rate of speed and yet each moving in his own direction, they never really pay attention to one another or their own inner state.  “Going nowhere fast” is the perfect description.
 

So where does contentment come from?  

I cannot speak for others, only for myself. I have no doubt many in this life have found contentment through their employment, their families, a "calling," a "cause," a purpose. 
For me, however, contentment has been the result of living my life in a spiritual manner, having a friendship with my Creator.  With definite experiences of comparison from my past, acceptance of the day-to-day events of my life has been a natural result in the context of that relationship.  Do I live my life in a nirvana state of peace, tranquility, happiness, and contentment?  No, I do not, but I am ever a work in progress.

Contentment is a priceless gift.  It is like a rhythmic, steady heartbeat which courses through one's being, never altering or changing.  May each of you be blessed with it in your own lives.



"I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and whatever happens." 
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment."