So, about a month ago I was terribly afraid of my own thoughts. I said it out loud today for the first time and now I'm going to share here, with some reluctance. My thought was about being content. About a month ago, I astonishingly thought that I might actually be content with my life. You ask why this is so astonishing? Well, it's b/c I can't remember the last time that I thought I could be content. I didn't want to say it out loud b/c if I did, then it couldn't possibly be true, like a jinx or something. For once it seemed I was OK with work and with relationships and with how I was feeling about life in general.
I learned that contentment might not always be good. We aren't content when we are trying new things, b/c they are new. We are stretching our minds and our comfort zones and expanding our knowledge and that doesn't usually mean contentment, it sometimes mean stress. We are content when things are smooth sailing and are comfortable with what's happening in our lives. So maybe it's better for our minds and souls to not be content if it means we are learning and experiencing new things. Maybe things seemed good to me b/c we were winding down the semester at work and I was a little more comfortable talking and sharing with people in my life. I'm not exactly sure what my point is, but this is an interesting perspective on contentment that I learned today. It might take awhile to sink in, but if I'm growing and learning, it's OK to not be content with every aspect of life. Or maybe I should be content with the fact that there is growth in my life. If I do get that glimpse of contentment, does that mean I should change something? OK, I think I'm starting to ramble, so I will stop for now. Comments are greatly desired. ;-)
P.S. Just to clarify, my feeling of contentment was brief and it has passed. I'm trying my best to grow and learn with what life throws my way.
7 comments:
i would like to comment but feel i have nothing to say. perhaps i should be content with that.
nice post. it's scary to put things out here in blogworld sometimes. er, i mean, so i've heard.
Glad you felt contentment! Sorry you're not content now, but maybe thats because you're too busy learning and experiencing new things! Yeah for you!
Makes sense. I think there is probably a middle ground out there somewhere, where we are not in a total rut of contentment, but are also not in complete turmoil.
gosh, joy. in my life, i have found that there is a fine line between contentment and complacency. i always try to be on the contentment side of the line and feel like i tend to be on the complacent side more often. but i have also found that the large majority of folks i know are pretty hard on themselves and tend to be quite self-critical. it's hard to overcome those little voices that are trying to make us feel bad about ourselves. based on that, i think that any contentment we feel is probably well-deserved, and since it tends to be a fleeting feeling, i think it's perfectly fine and even healthy to bask in it whenever it comes around. and then keep moving forward, all the time. :) i hope that is somewhat helpful. and really - kudos to you for sharing that part of your life. it is definitely scary to share feelings like this!
Very interesting. I do feel that I am content sometimes but that is out of a feeling of safety and routine. It is important to move on from the safe and secure places to challenge yourself and find something even better! Good Thought Joy can't wait to see you in February!
Thanks for the comments gang!
It is hard to share stuff like this with the world. So I guess it is good to be content for a bit and then cycle out of that into broadening our horizons, like what some of you stated above. Thank for listening!
Contentment is hard because it's so vaue. It's like, how do you know what it is or if you have it? If you don't know if you are content, then are you? And how do you keep it once you get it?
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