by Emily Fox

Created on: June 19, 2009

To be content is to be connected to what is natural within each of us. I believe being content is our natural state.

One of the ways I practice being content is to stop for a moment and just be. It is a difficult thing for all of us to do in these hectic times but it is a worthwhile endeavour to do so. In any moment, we can take the opportunity to realize that in the moment we have everything we need to continue.

In this moment, as we stop whatever we are doing, we are able to understand and appreciate who we really are. Our heart keeps beating, our lungs keep breathing and our mind is connected to all minds. Even when the challenge of life seems overwhelming, we continue to live. Why not live fully?

In any given moment, we are able to begin again. We can create a moment of peace and nurture the growth of this feeling or we can dwell on what is past and see no forward growth. It is entirely our choice how we spend our moments and how we set the course for the moments to follow. I believe contentment is reached when we are fully aware of what we enjoy and what makes us joyful and do more of these things. But the essential first step is to find the feeling we associate with enjoyment.

In a world which is so full of instruction and higher learning we have forgotten what we knew as yongsters. We have a hard time remembering when we awoke to the new day filled with excitement. We find it difficult to remember a time when life was more simple and our days were less structured. But although it may be difficult to return our thoughts to simpler days, it is within our reach to find the part of us that has remained untouched by the world around us. If we reach deep inside of ourselves we will remember what made us happy before we lpushed ourselves to achieve.

In the last two or three decades we have seen our society reject what comes naturally in favour of what comes from dedicated effort toward a specific goal. These exercises have taught us to strive and push ourselves to the point that we are now a society that is caught in the struggle of survival. We have let ourselves become what we are not. Our greatest talent and ability is not what we can achieve but who we are.

I find I am content when I am focused entirely on what I am doing. Better yet is to be entirely focused on what I enjoy doing. It is never an effort for me to do what brings me joy but it takes all of my strength to get through doing something that I find distasteful or something that I feel anxious about. Many of us feel we have no choice in what we do and we are swept away in the daily activities of our lives.

No wonder we are discontent! The amount of energy it takes us to talk ourselves into doing what we least desire in order to accomplish something in the future is not a good use of the energy we have inside. It would serve us better to take a little of that energy and spend it in the present moment. If we have what we need in this moment, why do we strive to trade this instant for something down the road? Surely, the root of our discontent is that we do not stop and see this moment as it truly is. We are so busy with plans and agendas that we forget that the only thing we can know for sure is what is present at this time.

Whenever I am feeling anxious, I remind myself that contentment is the choice I make for myself. It I choose to be at peace and to believe I will remain that way, I am sure I will recognize what brings me peace more fully. There is no reason to delay this feeling. It is available to all of us all of the time.

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