Everyday... I hear people grumbling about the long hours they have to work to make ends meet... how cost of living keep going up... how they are this and how they are that...
Honestly, I had been to the edge and back, I have gone through enough in life to understand that the value of life is more than just how much money you have in your pocket... or how good you look... or how highly your "friends" think of you... I can't help but walk away shaking my head...
"Oh... C'mon"... you may brush it off saying this... but hey... if it is affecting your life (or the way you live your life), THINK AGAIN...
Everyday, millions of people rush through their days without really feeling contented about their lives... and this is sad... people rush in and out of the day pursuing dreams... material needs... etc... without any satisfaction...
What makes it worse, is that they sink deeper and deeper in discontent each day pursuing their obsessions. Some even become so depress that they become dysfunctional.
Lately, there's a lot of publicity on Mental Health in Singapore and there's a reason.. Many people are suffering from depression, stress, etc... that can lead to very serious psychological problems..
Speaking from my own experiences of "riches to rags" (literally), failed relationships (just so many), failures (who can claim that they don't have any) and near death experiences (I've had a few), etc.. I know that coping with contentment is easier said than done...
Everyone must have heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs at one point in time or another... but how many actually dwell upon it??
Friends, there are many things in our lives that are far more important that we are ignoring... instead, we are driving ourselves to the limits with our obsessions or self-made illusions of needs..
No? Well... have you ever give up a meal so that you can save that few dollars for that dress or that shoe that you were dying to buy?? Or have you rather take a loan to buy that car and pay through your nose than to take a bus (just because you're wearing a tie)? Or have you rather borrow money from someone close just to join your friends for party than to stay at home and chat with your folks?
You see guys, you've got all your priorities wrong... there are some things that are needs and necessities in life... many things that you guys are pursuing aren't necessities... they're your obsessions... Know the difference and you'd find that attaining contentment is not so hard afterall... You'd find more reasons to be happy than to complain...
Of course, if you choose to complain, it is just so easy... and we all know how easy we can pick up something and complain about it (don't we?)... but why do we want to do that when we can focus on what we have and plan on how we are going to use it to make us happy instead of running after that rabbit that won't fill our stomach?
Yes, I'm saying that a lot of the miseries that we are facing are self-inflicted... you have a choice to lower your expectations but you choose not to... Who says that bankruptcy is the end of your road??? Who says that a divorcee can never find love again? Who says that you can only make ends meet by working 16 hrs a day?... it is YOU, my friends...
YOU chose to buy that car or condo.. YOU chose to tell yourself that you can't survive on that low salary.. YOU chose to the lifestyle that you want not because you needed it, but because you wanted it...
So friends, re-evaluate your priorities in life... when you do, you'd find that there are many things that you perceive as a "need" may just be a "want"... Think about it...
Cheers
Martin
5 comments:
hi uncle , i like yr written journal....wat u saying is true lah. but problem with human beings is that we never satisfy wat we have.... Human beings r juz seeing a partial angle in life.i agree. hehe me too. thks for waking me up too....
see ya
Thanks Gregory for this message on Contentment
Of late, ive been at the lowest point of my life and God has been speaking to me about counting my blessings and being content just as Paul spoke in the bible.
What do you do when u are bored with life? Everything seems so minute and meaningless sometimes u just drag yr feet thru life.
Hi EC,
Everyone will experience what you've describe at one point in time or another. Some may also experience it repeatedly as if there's no end to these low-moments. Given anything and everything that we have to go through, there is ONE Fundamental thing that we must know... WE HAVE A CHOICE... It is how we choose to see the things around us that will make us what we are (happy or sad... motivated or disillusioned... strong or weak... etc)...
For me, I've been through a lot in life... more than you can ever imagine... I've been thru the tracks of going from rags-to-riches and then, from riches-to-rags (I came from a poor family... made my fortunes and lost everything... I'm a bankrupt now)... I've suffered grave injustice from scheming people and even had to serve time in prison for it... I've been to war-torn countries and had experienced what is fear, captivity, hunger, cold... I withstood pressures from thousands to stay firm on my idea of righteousness, my faith and my principles... I have fought to stay alive from colon cancer, from a punctured lung, from broken limps and bones...
If I were to strip myself, you'd probably be shocked by the amount of scars that I have on my body (not to mention the emotional and psychological scars that are invisible)...
Given all these, I have every reason to hate... to resent... to blame anyone and everyone for the misfortunes I've experienced... But I chose not to... I preferred to take my Christian upbringing to embrace the hardships that I go through...
My experience with God is not anything that is miraculous nor biblically glorious... I'm a born Catholic... there's no "struck by God's touch" fairytale... I was brought up with good values in my family... in my school and in my Catholic community...
Regardless of religion or culture, we should learn to embrace the difficulties and challenges in life... its about taking ownership of things we do... and moving ahead no matter how rough the sea is... no matter how rocky the road is...
In one of my previous posts of my journal here, I've talked about how we can change the way we feel about the set-backs in life... there's a video that is really nice on that posting and here's the link to it...
CLICK TO SEE VIDEO
I hope this message will inspire you to believe that we can make a difference to our own lives... God has given us a very valuable gift... and that is the Gift of CHOICE... use it wisely and you'd find that there's really nothing that will stop us from being who we want to be...
Martin. It is easy for you to push a pen and say you understand but it takes more than just words to live a life of pain and suffering.
AJ
I came across this post on Facebook and couldn't comment there. I understand this is more than a year old, but what struck me was - Is it necessary to be content to be happy?
Happiness does not come from being content, that's my personal experiences. My hardships and realisation has led me to believe that contentment leads to laziness - an idle mind is a devil's workshop. So we need to build expectations and goals - that's the life towards self-improvement. Happiness is about enjoying every minute of life and still pursuing your goals.
Indira.
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