From an old journal,
a ballpoint sketch I drew in the air. The caption just says, “Between Buenas Aires and Houston, 5/28/09.”
Is she content? You decide.
Better what the eyes see than the roving of the appetite.*
Contentment is a greatly underrated value, until you don’t have it.
It sounds so Vanilla when Double Chocolate Whipped Rocky Mountain Mousse is right there . . . just out of reach.
Why settle for what you already have when something better is looming in the mirage of your mind?
Well, for one reason, your eyes look better when focused.
Your mouth looks better without the drool.
Your conversation is better in the moment.
And your Attention Deficient Disorder is less obvious.
Question: How much time is misspent wishing things were different?
Answer: All of it.
I read an account of a man in prison who chose solitary confinement so he could better focus. Doing time, he had plenty of it, and didn’t want to waste a minute. He became a scholar in his chosen field (Egyptology), communicating with researchers on the outside. He’s getting out early for good behavior, well cured of the lifestyle that got him in, and now a man with a future.
Seeing value in the potential of his present situation was the key to everything.
The eyes are beautiful things to reveal what’s in front of us. But they also take in a lot of what we don’t have and leave us dry. It may be a hodge podge of mixed metaphor, but the roving appetite is the mother of a sunken rib cage of the mind.
To have “more” is a pretty human preoccupation. But I’ve often wondered, “Would I be happier?”
Or wishing for more again?
Happiness is a present tense state of mind.
Having all is never enough.
But having enough is all.
______________________
*Ecclesiastes 6:9
PS My sister Sue’s blog today features a pictorial tribute to my parents’ 70th anniversary. She was fourth of five, myself eldest. Take a look here.
Next: The e-gallery. Coming Thursday.
Our Lives Together
Its About Life
9:49 am
Great thought, Hyatt, for our Sunday morning. I remember, years ago, reading a classic entitled, “The Jewel of Christian Contentment.” He defined contentment as “having everything I need for my present happiness.” The author was stating just that… if we can put our roving, craving, and wishing aside and simply enjoy the present moment in God, we’d be happy. It’s the longing of our pre-Fall hearts, to simply be who we were created to be i.e. at peace, walking in the garden with God. Could it be our fallen, malcontent nature that perpetuates the contrary? It’s a battle for me, daily, constantly. Jesus conveys the importance of contentment in the Mount discourse, and its centrality with regards to happiness. I’m a strong believer that this tranquil state will be our’s, for keeps, in the Kingdom, where we’ll be “in the moment” always. Yes, forever!
9:54 am
Hi Hyatt! I can’t help thinking that you again are pondering when writing this about the events that surround so many of us today. This is so true, seeing value in the potential of the present situation of this day. Not so much on what the gains can be. I think fear is my culprit and my stumbling block, if you will. This is where our church lessons which today was on fear, comes in so well to help with this. Isaiah 41: 11-13. Ecclesiates 12:13 is the sum of it. Thank you, Hyatt. Thank you for sharing your God inspired thoughts again with us. Thank you for sharing your family through your lovely sister, Sue! 73 years! Unreal! God’s blessings! Lisa Hoyt
10:22 am
What a neat tribute to your parents. One of the great positive moments in this old world which is noteworthy as are your other thoughts you have shared from Ecclessiastes.
As an aside, my older 1/2 brother has shared his wife with a lovely wife for like 68 years!
8:11 pm
I loved your message Hyatt…..just what we all need to be reminded of.
12:32 pm
Simply beautiful Hyatt, and a wonderful reminder. Close your eyes, take a deep breath in and a long slow exhale out and then open those peepers back up. I am always amazed at how that brings me right back to the magic of here and now. So simple but utterly day altering. Thank you for being a new blessing in my life, Hyatt. It’s like I took that breath in and slowly exhaled, opened my eyes and there you were, with daily meditations that somehow hit the spot everytime.
Looking forward to the next post!
5:21 pm
Hyatt,
I love your rhetorical question of how much time is misspent wishing things were different? Simply stated.
Reminds me of the encouragement of the apostle Paul: “I have learned to be content…” Groaning rather than growing is what happens when we are discontent but growth comes when we settle down to the present moment being enough. Great reminder! Thanks!
7:32 am
“The world tells us the “good life” comes from what is external and material. Jesus tells us the “good life” is found in pursuing the eternal and experiencing internal transformation. Which “good life” do you pursue?” ~ JP Jones, Sunday’s sermon. Since God owns the world and everything in it, it makes sense to just say, “Thank you Lord.”