Very Little is Needed to Make A Happy Life…
A Quote by Marcus Aurelius that is Almost Present in Every Philosophical Book.
We all seek comfort in this world. Our efforts are mostly guided towards shaping a comfortable life free from the clutches of worry and stress. We all are in the pursuit of happiness but not all get what they seek. The reason is that they seek outside of what they have already inside.
It is not the material things in whose proximity the happiness resides but it is in the contentment, a state of mind.
Greed runs the affairs of this world and many more which we are not able to perceive. Greed wages war. Greed bankrupts institutes. Greed corrupts honest. Greed is the core of many problems.
‘The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.’
Mahatma Gandhi said this to highlight the importance of contentment.
Nature is apt proof of that. It provides whatever is necessary to survive to all. Right from a particle of grain to an Ant to Tons of food to an Elephant. Everyone gets what they need to survive, the only condition is that one has to toil hard to find that survival kit.
However, many have lost the true purpose of effort and they are toiling for what they think will give them comfort. And in that struggle, they miss what they have for the want that their greed projects.
Santosham Param Sukham” means “satisfaction is the ultimate happiness.”
When we can accept who we are and when our efforts to uplift us from our current state fail to manifest into our desired result, grief cannot cloud our emotions and we can stay in bliss.
It is hard to attain that state but many souls are content with what they have and are never disappointed by what it can be.
Being content is a good but lazy one like I will defend my inaction with the state of being content. Being content does not give me an excuse to abandon my efforts and do nothing.
We can have goals to achieve, dreams to convert into reality, and visions to fulfill even in the state of contentment but those dreams, goals, and visions can never be the source of misery if they remain unfulfilled.
Contentment means being happy with what we have, what we achieve by our own moral efforts, and to be free from the greed of accumulating unwanted things by harming others.
Contentment is not an excuse to lay still but a shield to protect from disappointment when things do not go according to our expectations.
Tony Gaskin said it beautifully:
To be content doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s to come.