We had our first snow flurries of the season last week. My first thought when I saw it outside my window was, “Aw man, come on! Too early for this – it’s still October!” Complaint. Later that day during my lunch break, I opened up my container of leftovers only to find out it had gone bad in the fridge the day prior. My first thought was “You’ve gotta be kidding me. This stinks (literally)!”. Complaint. Throughout my shift, I took several looks at my to-do list and thought “Mondays are the worst…I don’t feel like doing this today!” Complaint. With a mindset like that, how could I have anything but a crappy day?
I’ll admit it, I struggle with contentment sometimes. When things don’t go my preferred way, or when I sense some sort of discrepancy between what is and what I wish was, I get out of sorts about it too easily. Can you relate?
The best definition of “contentment” that I’ve found so far is “acceptance of what is.” Being content requires that we mindfully acknowledge whatever is true in the present moment, and then accept it with a more positive attitude than is sometimes natural for us. Complaint definitely feels like an instinct sometimes. Contentment requires practice!
Take my bad day example again from above. A response of contentment would have sounded like “Huh. Snow so soon! That’s okay with me – I’ve got a warm jacket.” A response of contentment would have sounded like “Bummer. It’s okay though, I can eat out today.” A response of contentment would have sounded like “There’s a lot on this to-do list, but I can get it done one task at a time. Glad to have job at all!” What if this had been my response? Perhaps the day wouldn’t bent a little bit more toward joyfulness than sourness.
Oxford Dictionary goes so far as to define “contentment” as synonymous with “happy” and “satisfied”. Of course, we can’t be happy and satisfied 100% of the time, that would be inhuman. However, we could definitely be intentional about setting a more positive foundation to build upon each day. Complaints are shaky and lead to crumbling thought patterns. Contentment is strong and leads to building-up thought patterns.
A mind with a foundation of contentment does not constantly ruminate on what’s next, on whatever unnecessary material item is desired, or on how things could be different in this way or that way. Instead, this a content mind is fully present in this moment, sees what it has right now as enough, and accepts that this is the way things are for now.
As we begin to enter the beloved holiday season, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about how to be more content in your life. Practice acceptance, especially when things don’t go your way. If you need assistance in building more positive thought patterns like this, you are not alone! Please feel free to call The Willow Center at 317-852-3690.
Written by Chase Cotten, Community Director
