Baseline: Contentment

It’s time for another writing exercise from the blog A Journey of Joy. Here’s this week’s prompt: “We thought it would be fun and interesting to write about contentment. I’m interested to learn what you think of contentment. Does this word have a positive or negative connotation to you?”

I have mixed feelings about contentment. My first internal response was that contentment is positive, because it brings to mind curling up with a book and and a purring cat on a cold winter evening. It feels a bit like equanimity, of being content with your life despite the external conditions, of sitting like the Buddha under a tree, peacefully content. But on the other hand, contentment can imply that we are just…settling. It can mean we’re okay with the status quo, that we don’t bother to create change or follow our passions or get really enthusiastic about something. Contentment can feel like sitting comfortably in the suburbs, taking things for granted, while the world goes on elsewhere.

I’m the type of person who appreciates contentment and keeping things on an even keel, emotionally speaking. But I also know the value of stimulus and change and progress. I have many friends who live more vibrantly, and can get more passionate, laugh louder and live bigger than I tend to do. But those highs can often bring with them deeper lows. That kind of radical up-and-down can make my stomach hurt – literally. I can’t keep up that pace, or I get really stressed out, and that doesn’t help me live a fulfilling life and contribute to the world.

What I came down to is that I enjoy contentment as an ongoing baseline emotion. It’s where I like to reside. From there, I can soar upward into passion and excitement, and of course sometimes dip down into doubt, worry, or fear (it happens to all of us now and then). I think having a more secure foundation works best for me. From there, I allow myself to be inspired to stretch and grow when it feels right. I ask questions within the privacy of my own mind, and then go out and act on the answers, and discover more questions to ponder. Rather than reacting immediately, I prefer to contemplate first, and I’m content in the knowledge that my path will unfold in good time.

[P.S. For some reason I can’t seem to post a comment on A Journey of Joy. I wanted to share with the author that I’m loving these prompts, and send her some links to my responses. If anyone knows Galavanter personally, could you please show her this post? Thanks!]