A Reflection On Contentment
Where and when do you feel still?
Inner peace. Not craving or needing anything. Contentment. Your mind agrees; the chatter has ceased. Quiet. When was the last time you paused and thought to yourself, ‘this, this is enough.’ You noticed that for once, you are especially and deeply satisfied with life. Have you ever had moments like this? Any lately?
It’s a simple and sought-after place: to find this inner stillness of one’s heartbeat where it is in sync with the life you’re living. You are here, and it’s deeply satisfying.
We’re all hungry and craving something. The world tells us to want more because that’s how life keeps us going. When we’re hungry or desiring, we are motivated. We strive to create what we want to manifest in our lives. We call it progress.
Craving and desire help us grow, move, change, and transform. There are countless articles about how to get more accomplished, reach your goals, and change your habits. But have you ever had moments of pausing, reflecting, feeling all the satisfaction, with a whole heart, a deep okayness that nothing outside this moment is needed? Where your hard work has paid off. Or, even if you’re in the middle of it, you can trust enough that there’s beauty in the process of change. Your mind is quiet, and your heart is content even while you’re still figuring it out.
For some, a day at the beach brings a sense of satiation: The soul is full of sun and surf. Or after a nourishing and satiating meal, licking your lips as the taste lingers on your tongue, and your belly is happy. A whole body, yum. A warm embrace with a loved one after you’ve been apart for too long; perhaps there are tears. The feel throughout your body after a wonderful night’s rest. A view of the skyline view across the bay on a clear day, where the water glistens with light and the breeze is just enough to cool the warm moisture on your skin. The smell of a barbeque somewhere nearby; the sound of children playing, screaming with delight. A deep, hearty laugh, shared with soulmates who get your groove.
When life gifts you with satisfaction, appreciation, and gratitude, all you crave is to pause and take it all in.
Where do you feel content, like everything is good enough, and appreciate what is here right now, even if it’s unfinished and incomplete?
It can feel like a lot of work to quiet down and tune in. Some of us might be frightened by what we find if we stop, pause, and get honest with ourselves. We become conditioned to layer on with noise and messages from the outside. In some ways, we depend on it to function. Yet when constantly inundated with external needs and always busy striving, doing, and craving, we never get to taste the sweet serenity of this moment. On some level, we’re all searching for a deep sense of okayness: to feel ‘I’m okay and appreciating this moment, this breath, this life.’
Sometimes with clients who are anxious and preoccupied, I ask them to pause. I stop them and ask, “At this moment, is there anything wrong?”
Watching nature do its thing helps ground me in ways not much else seems to. I find it in the simplest things — the sun glistening through the morning trees, where I can hear the insects and birds chirping. When the world is heavy, I’ll step back, observe, consider and search for hope.
Nature doesn’t hurry. It isn’t craving endlessly. It’s here, now, and it embraces changes. It moves together. It dies — new life sprouts.
Why do we lose sight of the simplest of things? We crowd ourselves with noise and consumption to try and give us a sense of fulfillment, but it never lasts. We cannot fill the void for long if we can’t sit still enough to feel our heart, pain, and musings.
Before you move on to the next to-do, chapter, phase, or thing.
Be here. Now. So simple, yet not easy.
What makes you pause, nourished, and content?
