Contented Beings

by Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2006

A favorite quote from Helen Keller is, “Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.”

Contentment is, without exception, no matter what is going on, the highest attainment. It’s a total and final acceptance of who we are in this life. Then there is no yearning and nothing is missing. When we experience contentment, we experience that aspect of ourselves which is eternal. It is like our inner Self acknowledging and experiencing the truth of itself.

It does not mean inaction or passivity, and it does not mean not caring about people and things. From a contented space, we can be far more effective in walking the delicate balance between fully accepting “what is”, while at the same time, seeing “what could be” and working for change.

This state does not depend on outer conditions or circumstances, and it has been experienced in the face of abject poverty, misfortune, confinement, and even torture. One of the most contented beings I have ever met is a fellow prisoner who will spend the rest of his life in prison. When I asked him how he manages to have such a cheerful outlook, he replied, “I choose to live my life in here one day at a time and to always look for the things to be thankful for in each day.” It’s so simple and yet, how often we forget this.

Just as the presence of light removes all traces of darkness, the presence of contentment removes sorrow, fear, or suffering of any nature. Without light there is no way to get rid of the darkness. Darkness is only the absence of light. In the same way contentment is the light that removes the darkness of negativity and limitation. In the presence of this light, all the baser emotions are dissolved and dispelled.

It’s such a freeing feeling to realize that we can be content simply be deciding to be. Then we become supremely independent, for we know our contentment is not dependent on anything or anyone. Then we can relax with a secret smile.

Comments

[The Editor]

I will forward your comments on to Tom, who has no access to his BLOG site whatsoever. This is why I encourage readers to write to him directly so that he knows you are appreciative of his posts. Please find his address in the "About" section under "Interests"
Thanks!
Kathleen, Editor

[I wish I could say]

I was out your way on last week, but the entire joint was locked down. I'll try again sometime. I think of you often and wish the best possible for you. I continue to enjoy your writing through this blog, and I hope you receive lots of virtual companionship through comments and correspondence.

In the meantime, please accept these puns:

When a radical engine was marketed in 1911, the inventor said, "Diesel be very good."

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft it sank -- proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.

Ba-doom-boom.