Problems

There will never come a time when my life is free of problems, things I wish were different, things I dislike. That's part of life. We all have things we wish we could change. Some are larger than others, but the suffering that comes along with them isn't necessarily proportionate to the size of the problem.

Don't you ever see people who seem so happy, grateful, and content who have very real, serious problems? Or people who seem to have everything they could want but can never be content, never appreciate what is right in front of them?

Being content is is a little like giving up. Giving up striving, letting those big goals relax and fade somewhat. Sure they can still exist, desires in the background but letting go of having the goals be the driving force. It's so easy to get stuck into wanting something better, a better job, more money, better relationship, more experiences. The thing we fail to realize is that there isn't possible enough of anything to fulfill this desire. There is always something or someone more to want to chase. That will never end. The only way to find contentment and to decide to find it. Let the striving go, relax into the now ans accept what is with appreciate and grace.

I constantly strive for something or someone who will make me happy. This experience, this job, this person will make everything perfect and then I won't have problems. Except it never works that way, there is no magic solution, nothing is perfect and constantly seeking perfection is a sure fire way to succeed in suffering.

Imbuing people and things with this magical quality of happiness. Seeing them as a means to joy or a solution to suffering is completely backward. Only by finding the happiness and love in your self can you truly find joy and dissipate suffering.

How did we all get it so wrong for so long? Who taught us we are all poverty stricken and desperately need to be filled up by others, things, stuff?

We all have our own things we seek, things we can never be content with. We all have our type of itch to scratch, our own burning desire or painful aversion. We all have this. What if we could drop all that for a moment and just embrace and relish what we do have and find peace and appreciation for that?