Contentment

How do we find contentment? How do we cultivate it? Why is content such a great word? The definition of content is being in a state of peaceful happiness. Who doesn’t want to be content is the real question. For me, breakfast this morning at my uncle’s apartment with my family for father’s day was a place where I felt extremely content. During these times, I find myself quiet, taking in the atmosphere and listening to others (which I rarely do since I do describe myself is being very much of a talker).

My first thought when thinking about how to cultivate contentment was the idea of living in the present. Focusing and nurturing what is in front of you at each moment of the day instead of worrying about the past or future. Mindful magazine echoes my thoughts stating, “Recognizing, seeing, and stepping away from our judging mind creates the conditions for enduring contentment.” As stress builds though, it is hard to find contentment throughout your day as it becomes a barrier to finding and appreciating the present. As a result, turning to mindfulness and meditation throughout your day can be the solution to being able to slip back into contentment.

Contentment for me always means being joyful, grateful and so happy being and enjoying the present moment that nothing around me seems to be more important. It always has an association in my head that it means life is good. Willem Kuyken states that “contentment can mean recognizing and resting in difficulty, letting go of the struggle that can perpetuate suffering.” It doesn’t always have to be good, yet allowing yourself to rest in this place of difficulty can allow you to find the good in the difficult situations. As humans, we can only sit in the difficult for so long. At some point, we want to feel good and we air towards looking for the silver lining.

By seeking gratitude in your day to day life, you are helping to nourish and support contentment. Finding in the good and appreciating the little things allows us to stay present, appreciating more of our regular day to day activities rather than just going through the motions. As a result of this intention, we as humans can slip into feelings of contentment more easily as showing our appreciation and gratitude brings us joy, and joy acts as a catalyst and blends into being content.

So the big takeaways are finding times throughout your day to pause, to mediate or be mindful for a second. Secondly, practice being actively grateful. Third, live life in the present through doing these first two steps and the hope is that you can find pockets throughout your day where contentment can occur. From experience, it is a feeling that you never want to disappear. It allows for the satisfaction and enjoyment of things fully without any underlying tension of stress, it almost feels like being in a zen state…