happiness is contentment

Contentment is seeing a pink flamingo on St. Croix when they haven't been seen in years and years.  i know this is a fuzzy picture but seeing this tall bird in our beautiful water is mind blowing to say the least.  Having never seen one outside of a zoo, the feeling of contentment was overpowering.  That bird was magnificent.

Throughout our lives there is the outside clamoring, ringing against our psyche, which asks the question “Are you happy?”

“Are you happy?”

This has been a philosophical dilemma for millennia. 

How do we define happiness and what constitutes being happy? 

i’ve always thought that loving yourself is the first step, loving all your faults and attributes, but hell, i don’t know the answer  to "Are you happy?" any more than any one else does.

And, i’m not going to write about happiness because it is an impossible subject, one where too many go to find unhappiness.

But i will talk about contentment.

The sea gives me a warm feeling of connectedness, makes me want to celebrate, enjoy myself, have fun out there, whoop it up and tell the world if they aren't in the water they are missing out.  The mountains do the same when i hike or ski or just enjoy.  Watching nature in any environment certainly fulfills my need to be contented and at peace with the world.  Having peaceful relations with family and friends is important too, and being honest with everyone is a good thing. 

So is being at peace happiness…or is it being contented, i don’t know?

The daily drama of our lives fluctuates so much between frustration and elation that i think any definition of happiness is lacking.  No one explanation suffices for all of us.  We all have our own definitions of happiness and what makes us happy.   

Here’s mine.

Happiness is so broadminded, so idealistic, that it defies definition.

Now being content is easier, it can mean living in the moment with your family, loving having lunch with a close friend, walking in the dark with your neighbors, enjoying a swim with all your buddies, connecting when you are in the grocery store line, doing the best you can at your job and accepting what you have.

A Jewish poet and philosopher born in Spain had this to say about contentment.

“Who seeks more than he needs, hinders himself from enjoying what he has. Seek what you need and give up what you need not. For in giving up what you don’t need, you’ll learn what you really do need.”  Solomon ibn Gabirol