Contentment

These days it’s cold and dreary here in Southern Ontario, Canada and I’m wishing I were somewhere else. It reminded me of something I read in a book called "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow

It goes like this:

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“It was spring but it was summer I wanted; the warm days and the great outdoors.

It was summer but it was autumn I wanted; the colourful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was autumn but it was winter I wanted; the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter but it was spring I wanted; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted; the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted; to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted; the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-age that I wanted; the presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted.”

Can you relate to any of that? I know I certainly can. When I was young I couldn’t wait until I was 16, then it was 18, then 21. I look back fondly at all of those years now, but where was the contentment with what I had when I had it?

I wanted children but then looked forward to the day they were a little older and a bit less work. Then I wished they were younger and still liked to cuddle and spend time with me.

I wanted time for me, to do what I liked and not have to answer to time restraints or the wishes of other people. Now I have all the time to myself I want and it’s kind of lonely. I want to be around people more.

It seems contentment is an elusive dream, always out of my reach. Maybe that’s why the Bible says in Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Whether I’m old or young, in a good situation or a bad one, whether the sun is shining or it’s not – I’m still breathing, so I might as well be happy that I have today and enjoy it while I can, wherever I may be!

Have a great day,
Carol