BY MARIA LUISA SALCINES
Contentment is about finding peace and understanding, knowing that life cannot always be perfect because happiness is fleeting.
There will be good days and bad days.
I once read the quote, “When you learn to accept instead of expect, you’ll have fewer disappointments.”
Our society has become one with a focus on material. It leads us to believe that the more we possess, the happier we will be. More money, vacations, friends and accolades should lead to happiness.
In pursuit of these things we often miss out on the most important things in life, which is spending time with family, developing lasting relationships and most importantly, knowing when enough is enough and it’s time to simply appreciate what we have.
An exhausted, worried and disconnected being is not a happy person.
Contentment is reaching a point in life when we can be happy with who we are and what we already have.
This doesn’t mean we ought not challenge ourselves or change careers if the opportunity should present itself.
Basing happiness on the next toy, vacation, or new car is like putting a Band-Aid on something that missing in our life.
To count our self content, we must understand that on the road we call life, things are not always necessarily amazing.
It’s about embracing reality with faith and working at improving the things we desire to change, but also enjoying the present moment and the people in our life.
It’s a sad thing to reach the top of the mountain one thought would make them happy, look over to the neighboring mountain and think, “I should have climbed that one instead.”
Our presence and being are with us always and wherever we journey, so it’s important our heart is at peace.
The day we depart this Earth, nothing comes with us. Enjoy every moment of life and be grateful for today.
Maria Luisa Salcines is a freelance writer and certified parent educator with The International Network for Children and Families in Redirecting Children’s Behavior and Redirecting for a Cooperative Classroom. Follow her on Twitter @PowerOfFamily, Instagram @mlsalcines, or contact her on her blog FamilyLifeandFindingHappy.com.
