What Is Contentment?

Contentment. That a big thing. But what does it really mean?

Dictionaries define it as the following:
- happiness in one's situation in life
- the experience of satifaction, and being at ease in one's situation
- a form of fulfillment
- a state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his belongings

Contentment was something that always baffled me. Why should I be happy with what I have, when there are so many things I don't have? Things that would make life easier, better, thigns that could make me beautiful and popular. Why should I be happy with my life situation, when my life pretty much sucks? This was how I used to think.

I was raised in a wealthy country, where consumerism is huge. Everywhere you look, you are being told that you don't have something you need. But, why do we "need" these things? Here in Canada, and in the US, many of us have much more than we actually need. Yet we still want more. And usually, we get what we want, whether we have the money to get it or not. TV, magazines, posters, bill boards, music, everything tells you that you need to spend your money on something. Anything. A new computer, or phone. A bigger, better TV. A new, faster car. The lastest fashions. Where ever you look, you are being bombarded with things screaming "Buy me! You need me! I'll make your life so much better!"

Do we really need these things? No, of course not. We have so much more than what we need in order to survive. Most of us, however, don't pay attention to what we need, but what we want. We always want something more. New clothes, a bigger TV, the latest gaming system. There's always something. This is normal for us.

I never knew the true meaning of contentment until I went to Mexico. While I was there, I spent a lot of time playing with the children that lived in the areas we visited. These children knew contentment, on an extreme level. Now, if you think about kids here, they always want something, and it's usually pretty expensive. Everything they see on TV, they want. My little brothers are a prime example of this. The kids in Mexico, however, are completely different.

You could make a little Mexican kid's day, just by giving them a hug, and a tiny little sticker. Their faces would light up, and they would be filled with complete joy, by something as tiny as a sticker, or a bouncy ball. Now, how many kids do you know that get hyped up over a sticker, and a bouncy ball? How long does their excitment last, if it exists at all? Most kids I know would get bored really fast, if they got excited at all about a sticker or a bouncy ball. I learned so much from the kids I met in Mexico. I will never forget how excited they would get about a sticker, or making a bracelet.

True contentment is more than just being happy with what you have. It's living life to the fullest, no matter what you have. And enjoying every moment God has blessed you with. It doesn't matter whether you have a little, or a lot. True contentment lies within your heart. If your heart is focussed on wanting more material things, you will never be content. The only thing I believe we should want more and more of is love, and God. With that thought, I end this entry, mostly because I have to leave, but it's also a good thing to think about.

Are you truely content with what you have been blessed with? Or do you want more? Do you want to be content? Or do you want to always want more?