THE SPIRIT IN YOU
alone” The farmer calmly said, “We’ll see.” A month later, the farmer’s son was still recovering.
The army came through town taking every able-bodied young man to join them. When the regiment came to the farmer’s house and saw the young boy’s broken leg, they marched past and left him where he lay. The military spared his son, and the villagers rejoiced, “You must be so happy!” I think you can guess what happened next…
The farmer smiled, repeating, “We’ll see.” This story shows the farmer’s acceptance of life’s uncertainties and hidden blessings. He wasn’t overjoyed at seeming good luck, but neither was he shocked by apparent bad luck. To me, this is the essence of contentment.
5) They express gratitude and don’t take things for granted
Taking things for granted can be a quick way to unhappiness. If we take our friends and family for granted when they are there for us, they may not be there for us next time. If we take everything in our life for granted, we may end up with a sense of entitlement.
This can take us away from contentment because it leads us to focus on what we believe we deserve or are owed. This makes it difficult to appreciate and be grateful for what we already have, causing dissatisfaction and perpetual longing for more. And round the circle goes! On the other hand, by regularly taking the time to express gratitude, it means that you won’t take things for granted. And you will also feel more joy and contentment in your life.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody
3) They know how to accept others as they are
If you don’t expect yourself to be perfect, then you won’t expect other people to be either. The content person also doesn’t expect others to fall in line with their own ideas, morals, or viewpoints. They don’t preach (in a bad way) and they don’t judge (most of the time!)
One of the best things about this, from a contentment point of view, is that if you don’t expect the world from others, you won’t be disappointed when you realize their humanity. This takes away a lot of stress and resentment. That doesn’t mean that content people have a negative view of others. In fact, these people hope for the best for others. They just don’t place emphasis on idealized versions of people. And that takes us to another important characteristic:
4) They know how to accept things as they are
The mantra of the content person is “The grass isn’t greener on the other side”. Just as they accept themselves and others, they also accept the situation they find themselves in. Let’s turn to an old Chinese Proverb, to see how powerful this can be: In a quaint village, an old farmer faced life’s unpredictable twists with wisdom and equanimity. When the farmer’s horse ran away, the villagers sympathized, “You must be so sad.” The farmer replied, “We’ll see.” The horse returned with two more, and the villagers exclaimed, “How wonderful! What great fortune you have!”
“We’ll see,” answered the farmer. When his son broke his leg riding one of the horses, they said, “What terrible luck! Now you have to do all your farming