I love going to this particular salon for the past eight years as I love the owner/hairstylist for her work; more importantly for her calm disposition. She is a practicing Buddhist and always appears to be on top of things without ever raising her voice. She smiles and accepts the customer is always right; melting away every complaint and earning herself a very dedicated and loyal clientele. She is someone who gives the impression of being satisfied in life.
As I sat in the hot seat while she worked on my hair, we got talking about whats happening in your life kinda stuff. I am pretty content with life at the moment is what came out of my mouth and I was quite surprised by it. As we discussed it further, I mulled over the question that was I content or just being complacent? There is fine line separating the two and which side of the line am I?
I realised that I am in a happy state about most things in my life at the moment; be it personal, health, emotional, financial, career, etc ……………………………….. I have no regrets or wants. I am quite happy to meander on the path that I am on without wondering when is my next holiday or this should go on my bucket list or I need to buy a car or when will I find a man/companion kind of relationship.
Damn I AM in a happy state, for I had found contentment!!!
But then the Devil on my shoulder whispered, “Are you indeed?”
Was I just bowing down to the inevitable and not working to improve these things in my life? Had I simply given up without knowing that I have?
No – came the reply from within. Thats not so. I have found peace and joy in my current situation. I had reached a conclusion five years ago that the rat race is not for me; hence gave up the job and moved to doing lesser work for lesser pay but with tonnes of peace of mind.
Same thing for my relationships; I moved on from the ones which were not working and working on the ones that are. I have been putting in a lot of care and time in the relationships that matter to me, ensuring those folks know how important they are to me. This is all regardless of any quid pro quid expectations. Its my choice to favour them as my most wanted; my choice to put in the efforts with a lot of joy.
I have intentionally moved away from numbers and fallen head over heels for quality!
Ok no, I havent become a saint! I have just become practical and made peace with my limitations, realised the importance of my priorities and most importantly started to believe in myself a lot. So self-love has become a huge committment to self.
There is a fine line between accepting your reality versus bowing down to mediocrity; that to me is the difference between Contentment and Complacent.
How about you folks? Where do you draw the line between contentment and complacent? I would love to hear your views on this – pls do share with me. If you have written a post for #MondayMusings, please do leave a link here for me to read it too.
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Hi, I am a practicing Buddhist as well and my practice has made me content with my life. However I am not complacent because there are quite a few things that I want to achieve in life. Nice post on a Monday morning.
Thanks so much Balaka; glad the post reasonated with you!! 🙂
Loved your post, Shalz and in a way, I can tell you I can relate to this strain of thought because I feel that being contented with life is a mindset. There are ‘n’ number of things that could make you unhappy when you compare yourself or what you have with others. You’re always better off than someone or worse off than them, so basically whatever you choose to see is what you feel! I choose contentment at the moment and happy that I do not need extraneous elements to keep me fulfilled! Ditto about choosing quality over quantity…and the real ties that matter in the end. Makes so much sense!
Thanks Esha – its this bloody comparison and being in the rat race that does away with our peace of mind and we end up making ourselves so miserable. We dont know why we want something but just are unhappy that we dont have it and others do!!!
I am glad to be part of the contentment tribe with you darling – its the way to enjoy life and live it to the fullest!
Enjoyed this post, thank you. My approach to this year has been different, but similar. 🙂 I decided to build the year 2018 on the theme of Thankfulness. Every Thursday I post at least 39 “Thank you’s” on my blog. If I can keep going, I’ll have 2018 thank you’s by the end of the year!
Thankful Thursday Week 8 and how to Click to Tweet
Thanks Shirley. I have been to a couple of your Thank you posts and its a brilliant idea. All the best of luck with it! 🙂
“I have just become practical and made peace with my limitations, realised the importance of my priorities and most importantly started to believe in myself a lot.”. Thanks for this thought. It makes a lot of sense. Especially since this year I am working on “Me”.
Oh thats so wonderful to hear Sunita; all the best with the project “Me” – its the best one to undertake in a lifetime!! 🙂
This is something I think about too. When I am satisfied with the way things go, a doubt do linger in my mind – have I settled for mediocracy? It’s very hard for me to distinguish sometimes. But then, I try to remain happy and cherish whatever joys that come across along my path. Life is too short to lose hair over things that maynot mean anything in the long run. Plus hair care products are very expensive too.
its a wonderful musing Raj and am glad to see more and more people around me repsecting this fact!! Ii hope you continue to feel blessed and happy always 🙂
Since I switched to organic and Zero Waste products- they are not so expensive 😉
Going after quality instead of running after the number game- this has to be the most fulfilling experience. It would add so much meaning and worthiness to the work at hand. A thought provoking post. I am not new to this mindset, this thought, but putting this to practice has taken time for me… still learning to do this.
Thanks Pratikshya – its a been a long journey through which this realisation came; many hard lessons learnt for sure. But now I am simply loving it! Somebody asked me the other day if you were to die tomorrow, what would be your one last wish – I actually couldnt think of anything! Guess this is contenment for sure!! 🙂
Contentment is what I look for than happiness. It doesn’t mean that I have settled for mediocrity, but what makes me feel good is what I care for.
Over thinking about this makes me lose my mind. So I decide to stay content 🙂
perfect Soumya- thats the way it should be 🙂
I liked your distinction between contentment and complacency. So often they blur and as you said we settle for mediocrity. I love my monthly visit to the beauty parlour . I find it quite therapeutic as the stylist chops away my hair
yes the parlour trips are such a bliss – they are my therapy for sure!! 😉
Thanks for liking my post – feels good to read that from a fellow blogger whose writing I really like to read too
Contentment it is.. and it is all about acceptance too.Yes its acceptance of the reality, with the good things and the not so good things too. I could quite say I am content with most things in my lie. Well with respect to a few other things, trying to reach that stage.
Thats so good to hear Ramya- happiness lies in being content; loads of peace of mind and a feeling of bliss!
The heading of your post is thought-provoking so much that I had to come and read this post though I am on a break. I liked how you have distinguished between the 2. I often wonder whether I am content or have settled for less. Many-a-days the answer sways left in favour of contentment while on other days it tells me I am not pushing myself. Also, I have realized when I read and write that is when I feel content.
Thanks for such high praise Anamika – made my day!!! I know what you mean about writing making you content- its the same with me! I love it when folks tell me how well I write or what I have written made so much sense to them – I truly thank god for letting me stumble into the blogging world- I just love it here!
Being content definitely does not imply complacence. In my opinion, it is important to feel happy about the small things even if you have miles to go otherwise. Yes, acceptance is definitely good.
Thanks Rachna and you are so right in saying that small things can make us happy; if only we are willing to be 🙂
Great question to pose and one I will have to think on more. I am not sure I am content with many things right now, I am at a crossroad right now, and seeking new things. Much to think of. #mg
Thanks Mackenzie – its a tough one when you really sit and think about it; I hope you are able to come to a conclusion soon as this leads to a inner peace feeling thats totally unmatched by anything else.
That is one poser of a question! I, personally will require some reflection. Which I do a lot of now… trying very hard to be mindful and present. You have me thinking, and for that I am always grateful! #mg xoxo