Contentment

 

We, who are all running after contentment, do we even know what contentment actually means? Does it mean being content, satisfied, and happy, with what we have, where we are, who we are with today? 

Then I'd say that we are running after a butterfly, a transient, fleeting feeling, something that we would never achieve for a longer period. As where we are happy today, with whom, and with what we have, that keeps changing. We want something today, and really want it, and we think, that is what would make us content, and yes, it does feel like we are content, after we get what we want, for a little while. But then the same thing which made us content, is not enough. It doesn't satisfy us anymore. WE want something else, something more. 

So, what if being content meant, just being content, like our nature to be satisfied with whatever we have, a value that keeps us happy always with ourselves, that would be the intrinsic, an internal  contentment. Just like Milton's Happiness which is a state of mind, contentment is a state of mind too. 

As “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”! (Milton in Paradise Lost)

Comments

  1. Pallavi19 March 2021 at 06:48

    i needed to read this today Bua, indeed we keep wanting more and more but forget when to mark fullstop.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Neera Handa 122 March 2021 at 19:54

    Thans for reading. Yes, needs are limited but wants are never ending. Only if we could know the difference...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jackie23 March 2021 at 17:35

    We have talked of this before and I really love this piece. But this one is so complex for me....

    If I am seeking contentment does that make me discontent?

    And what of discontentment? Without it we wouldn’t seek to change the wrongs of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Neera Handa 123 March 2021 at 19:56

    Yes, it is a complex one. I am just exploring the difference between wants, which are never ending, and needs that can be limited. Contentment, as I would like to understand it, is a state of mind, just like happiness. What makes us happy? can we we be happy by chasing it? Id say, we are all seeking contentment, but not because we are discontent. Dissatisfaction is different, as you can do something about it, yes, lets right all the wrongs of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  5. mattoo30 April 2021 at 03:53

    Enjoy what you have. Forget what you don't.
    मैं जिंदगी का साथ निभाता चला गया,
    हर फ़िक़्र को धुयें में उड़ाता चला गया।

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being a woman

  Well, being a woman is mostly about, resistance, persistence, and existence.   This idea of being a woman, where did I get it from?   Could this be the legacy of those strong women in my life who were a bit arrogant, but generous, capable, and interesting women!   They showed me that   There is always a price for being meek, being subdued and being taken care of, as you are taken lightly, and sort of despised!   Then there is a price that you pay for being strong and independent, and yes, for  being bold and persistent, as you are taken seriously, and sort of respected!  They taught me  that  to love someone, you do not need to stop respecting yourself I learnt from them that  In this life, you make your own place, and choose your own role, and  you make the choice to take the easy or the hard way! As there will certainly be alternatives,  but no matter what you decide, there is no guarantee you will no...
Read more

Teeku's adventure 3 The butterfly ride

Yes, that's right. Two tickets, one for Teeku and one for the mouse for their ride on a butterfly to fly to Mouseytung's party.  Teeku looked with a great surprise, when the butterfly turned its face towards them and with its yellow tongue put a little stamp of yellow pollen on the two passengers.  Wow! That's cool!  Teeku thought. He was getting very excited now. It was an easy ride, he just had to hold on to one of the straps hanging from the butterfly's back.  He looked around at the clouds and the trees, really tall ones and  waved at the birds flying around, and monkeys hanging from the branches of the trees.  He was however getting a bit hungry now, as he hadn't had any morning tea. Breakfast had been hours ago, and even then, he had not eaten enough. He had been playing with his food.  Suddenly he felt like eating his pancake, the one he had thrown and the one, the mouse had pinched.  He looked at the mouse and was surprised to see the piec...
Read more

Art and the artist

At the art exhibition on 5th of May evening, it was  the Vivid a celebration of light, and colours,  some  really bright, and happy colours,   coral pinks, mauve blues, turquoise greens, peach oranges, lime yellows,  splashed, on stark white or dark canvas,  shiny, sparkling, artistically woven, and knitted beautifully  in the shapes of strange sea creatures, corals, and mythical sea birds  as they may appear in a little girl's dreams,  and the artist, herself beaming, radiant,  bright eyed, with childlike simplicity,  full of glee and honesty about her dreams, fears, her love and happiness,  opening a door, just ajar,  with a shaft of light,  letting us in, into her world, beckoning us to see how she imagines the world to be.    Art Exhibition May 5, 2021: Underneath the Veneer by Neis Wai https://artshinelicensing.com/artists/neis-wai/
Read more