Contentment

I have been hopping about, reading all the blogs listed on the Woman to Woman Mr Linky thingy, and what interesting women I have met! Some I know already, and some are going to become new friends. Young, and not so young. Age and the associated thoughts are still echoing in my head, and there are so many things I could say. No doubt they will spout out now and then like a geyser over the coming weeks.

One thing Linda talked about was contentment, and that struck such a chord in me. A timely reminder. Contentment. And what that simple word actually means. Maybe it is something that comes when we realise that we do not have to compete in a "race" any more. Who on earth are we racing? Why? Maybe it is not associated with age, but rather a state of being or mind. Contentment. Serenity. Grace. Do we always have to have more? Why? Do we see it as failure, if we don't have the biggest and best? Why is contentment a word we hear or use so seldom?

Contentment is not settling for something less. It is just being happy with what we have right now. Happy with the people we are with, and the lives we are living. We don't need to strive for the unattainable all the time. We certainly don't need more things. We can always do with more people, but they are not possessions. So how do you measure success? I think the ultimate success is contentment. With it comes balance. The wisdom to realise that what is right there now is just perfect. What price has to be paid for things like promotion at work if it means less time with your family? Do we need bigger and better cars / homes/ holidays, if it means working longer and harder and missing out on "smelling the roses" or enjoying time with our families?

All those great plans for slowing down one day, when the next level is achieved etc etc are useless, you know. Things happen. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. So maybe we could all do with a family audit. What do we have that is priceless right now? What matters most in the world to me? We only have today. That is the only certainty. Contentment starts when we list all the things we are thankful for. Try it, and I can guarantee you will sit there and say WOW..... just look how blessed I am.

It is one minute after midnight. It would have been Geoff's birthday today.