Learning Contentment (DMM-JAN19)

In a culture where the economy is largely based on people being discontent with what they have so that they will buy something more, contentment is a rare state of mind. Too many of us have bought the lie that more stuff will mean less misery. We are captives of materialism, which demands that we measure our happiness by what we have, compared to what some others have. We already have so much that we must rent storage space to house our stuff. Sadly, much of the stuff we pay to store will be sold at garage sale prices by our children who consider it useless. Surveys show that even the very rich are not content. They don’t worry about having enough to provide for their needs, but they fret over what to buy to enforce their standing among their peers. They compete with symbols of wealth that they hope will ensure their standing. The amount of stuff we have doesn’t seem to matter, though we continue to gather it. The one thing we have tried to gain by accumulation we have missed: contentment.