Contentment
“The
goal is not perfection but a wholeness anchored in grateful living,
in knowing what you have...once you try wanting what you have,
everything changes. The Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutierrez believed
that only one kind of person transforms the world: the one with the
grateful heart.”
Gregory
Boyle (Barking to the Choir, p.119)
Off and on for the past
few years I have wrestled with the decision of whether to stay in my
house or move to something smaller; an apartment, or a
retirement community. It's something most folks my age have to
decide, and there are pros and cons to any decision made. My
enthusiasm waxes and wanes—but I think I've settled on staying put,
at least for now. I love my house, my neighborhood and the
convenience of living in town. Loving what you already have produces
a kind of contentment not found anywhere else.
Some of us spend a
generous portion of our lives wanting what we do not have. There's
nothing wrong with that; it gives us motivation to work toward the
goal. Especially when we're young, there is a great desire to keep
acquiring things, filling in the gaps, taking pleasure in the new.
But it's also a little like having a burr in your hindquarters—there
is the constant irritation of yearning for what's missing. It has the
potential to obscure what one already has. We experience feelings of
lack instead of feelings of gratitude. There is no serenity in that.
Acquisitions are only
part of the picture. We sometimes forget that every breath we take is
a gift, and every day that we awake alive and well is a blessing
beyond measure. I have a son who is now three-plus years in
recovery—and everyday I am grateful for his sobriety. I don't take
it for granted, because I know it's a gift. Every minute of every
day, there is something to be grateful for. When we focus on that, we
feel contented. Perfection is not possible, but gratitude takes us a
long way toward wholeness.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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