In our weekly neighborhood devotional, we were challenged to think about the concept of contentment. What does it mean to be content in life, and how do you achieve contentment? Is there really such a place? 

I definitely don’t claim to have all the answers, but these are my thoughts:  I don’t think contentedness is a place that you arrive at and then consider it achieved. I believe that it is something you have to strive for continuously. It is a discipline that you have to develop and constantly hone throughout your life. It is something we should yearn for and be driven towards. Life will always be full of challenges and even pain and difficulties, this is how we grow, this is how we develop. A life without tests and challenges, would be a life that has lost meaning and momentum. The discipline and skill to develop then, is how to find contentment even in those moments of challenge and crisis because that strengthens our capacity to ride those inevitable waves with greater success, resilience, and acceptance. 

So how do we pursue contentedness in our life? 

1. Reliance on God: this is a big one for me. I believe that true contentment is a quality of the soul, not the physical mind or body. Happiness or enjoyment may be achieved in a good meal, a beautiful gift, a funny joke, but these are ultimately fleeting because they are based in the physical world. But prayer and communion with God, serving others, loving your family, building a strong unified community together, these are things that bring lasting and enduring contentment because they are enriching not only your physical happiness, but allowing you to grow on a spiritual level.

“Happiness consists of two kinds; physical and spiritual. The physical happiness is limited; its utmost duration is one day, one month, one year. It hath no result. Spiritual happiness is eternal and unfathomable. This kind of happiness appeareth in one’s soul with the love of God and suffereth one to attain to the virtues and perfections of the world of humanity. Therefore, endeavor as much as thou art able in order to illumine the lamp of thy heart by the light of love.” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

2. Leaning into the power of prayer and meditation: this is a strength we can lean into any time or place. Prayer is the ability to commune with and call upon God for whatever you need in a moment—healing, assistance, protection, strength, endurance, contentment—and then let go and trust in the power of the prayer to be answered in whatever way is best for you in that moment. Meditation is a tool we can use not only to bring peace and tranquility into our lives, but to converse with our own spirit. It is through this faculty that we are able to receive inspiration and greater knowledge of our own self and our reality, and if we use this knowledge to guide our actions, this will lead to a greater sense of contentment.

Prayer and meditation are very important factors in deepening the spiritual life of the individual, but with them must go also action and example, as these are the tangible results of the former. Both are essential. ~ Shoghi Effendi

3. The ability to reframe our thoughts: there is a quote by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that states ‘the reality of man is his thought, not his material body.” We can change how we feel about something through the power of our mind. This involves actively retraining our mind to look at things differently, with contentment and growth in the forefront. Instead of “I have to do this” with a sigh of resignation, can we focus on how we or others will benefit from the activity? “I have to go to school today, ugh”, to “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to grow my mind and build my future when so many in the world do not have this privilege.” This notion of being able to look at the glass as half full, instead of half empty. It may seem on the surface as a simple or even superficial thing, but in fact, it has been shown time and again, that people who have  developed this skill of reframing have a much greater resiliency in the face of life’s challenges, big or small.

4. Serving others: when you feel helpless, reaching out to help others will refill you with a sense of purpose and joy. 

“The honour and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá