Is 'being content' no matter your situation a good thing in that you always feel satisfied whatever the situation or does dissatisfaction with your current situation serve in a positive way to spur you on to seek out new situations that you believe will lead to greater satisfaction? Is contentment all it's cracked up to be and is it even achievable? Thanks c20
In my opinion, happyness and contentment are both fleeting and easily forgotten things. Man is meant to always need more, to aspire to greater heights. In essence, every man secretly wants to be god. If we are left content, the wheels of civilization will grind to a halt and there is nothing left for us besides the lives of animals. No amount of bliss, primal or otherwise, would be enough to coax me back into the garden of eden or any stagnant heaven. Leave contentment for old men who have done all that they can and need only a moment of assurance and peace before they die to let them pass with a smile on their faces. For me, leave pain if it must be the cost for even the slightest hope for greatness.
Thanks, Clockwood, but how 'bout give me a little bit more than "a moment", okay? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I will say one thing about your post ....I felt much the same way until I finally retired and settled back to enjoy the remaining years of my life. I was and am astounded by the joy, satisfaction and "contentment" that I experience every single day. No, I can't explain it ...it's too encompassing to adequately explain. Some retired people, though certainly not all, can understand it ...virtually NO young people can. Interesting, huh? Baron Max
To be content is to be dead, or at the very least, to depart from life (or attain "enlightenment" or "moksha" as the East might say). Nature and life is struggle for greater and better things, or one will fall into a mire from which few can pull themselves from, that of the deprivations of slavery to the masters who have surpassed and dominated oneself.
Contentment in the general sense (at least what we're lead to believe), is to have a good education for 20 years, then have a good career for 40 years, then have a good retirement for 10-20 years. To me that seems like a bit of a chore. I don't believe most people enjoy their day to day tasks. Just today I was envious of my dog as I forced myself out of the house at 7:30am to spend ten hours doing something very boring. Sure the dogs life is not a complicated one, and they are dumbasses who are ignorant to even more things than we are. But my dog will never have to do such chores, he sleeps 14 hours per day, he gets happy over the most pointless things and when he gets a terminal illness, we put him to sleep so he doesn't have to suffer.
And your dog's life will be dominated by genetics. He will live a blissful existence for between ten and twenty years and then die. You will probably remember him fondly, but when you die the last traces of him on this earth will vanish. He won't have anything to show for existence. Not even the propagation of genes, as you have probably had him neutered. If I was doomed to be born, live a single night, and then die... I would rather work tirelessly on sculpture or painting for those brief hours than waste them on a night of mindless baccanalia and pleasure.
What difference does it make what you have done in life after you die. Sure it's great that I will live on in the memories of others, especially if I achieve something like painting a picture like you said. But that doesn't really matter anymore does it? You don't exist anymore. These were all things that you wished for while you were alive.
Why? What would be the point of such "tireless work"? But please don't get me wrong ...if that's what you'd want to do, that's fine. But why are you implying that to be content/happy/blissful for that one day is "wasted" and "mindless"? I'm just not sure that I understand the point. Baron Max
I never think about being contented, perhaps dogs and cats are contented but I've never thought about it. I have peace though of mind which I guess could be accepted as contentment.
The problem with this issue is the meaning of the word "contentment". It means different things to different people at different times. I.e., one can be content for a short period of time doing nothing but staring at a beautiful natural scene ....or even content doing some mundane task such as mowing the lawn on a lovely fall day ...or even completing some job at work. I think, however, that in this thread most seem to think of "contentment" as something long-term or, at the very least, not short-term. As I stated earlier, in my youth, I was often content for short periods of time and thought of that as "content". But now that I'm retired, the word has taken on a whole new meaning, a whole new reality. I'm not in a situation where I can do anything I want at any time I want ....so if I'm not content at 9am, I just do something else! And that continues to be true all day long. I now consider myself "content" and more to the point, I now know what it really means. (to me!) Baron Max
A day spent in self-involved bliss and contentment quickly becomes but a memory. The only place any shadow of it is stored is in your oh-so mortal little cranium. When you die, it vanishes as if it was never really there to begin with. Now, if that same fragment of time was spent on something such as art of something functional, your efforts (and hopefully some shadow of your personality and self) will remain for as long as what you make does. Heck, they will remain for as long as any memory of your work does. I couldn't really claim that the craftsmen who painted King Tut's tomb are really dead. I couldn't even claim that of those who built the Colossus of Rhodes, even though it long since tumbled into the sea. Such things inspire all who see them and shadows of their existence echo from person to person for thousands of years... even if they have blurred so much that we can't recognize the shadows any more.
Well, okay .....but what does that have to do with ones contentment (at the time)? See? That's the part that I don't get. If I'm workin' my ass off to create some lasting piece of junk, then die immediately afterward, how does that equate to my contentment??? I mean, even if I'm content to create that thing and it lasts a gazillion years, the "thing" lasting has nothing to do with my contentment AT THE TIME. Somehow it seems that ye're equating the contentment of others as your own contentment. I.e., if a gazillion people are "content" to view your "thing", then that makes your own contentment better or last longer? Baron Max
Suffering, discomfort, and desire are the constant state of existence, only with momentary intermissions of fullfillment or pleasure. This is simply a result of flux on the universe. Matter is constantly moving and changing and thus the human body and mind is pulled by the tide of reality, causing displeasure, alienation, and sometimes emptiness and apathy. Luckily, we have created a society, religion, and the technology to provide greater leisure and fullfillment of biological and psychological wants and needs to hold back some of these constants.
My feeling is that many confuse "contentment" with either "excitement" or "leasure". Buying a new car feels great, but is fleeting. Sitting on the porch with nothing to worry about likewise feels great, but is fleeting. IMO, neither are contentment, which involved coming to terms with the reality of life, and deciding that the joys of it are worth the pain. So that when the pain occurs, you can handle it, because you have expected it. The joys can then be enjoyed from a sort of 'outside looking in' kind of way. They are pleasent still, but not so encompasing that they become a drug with a subsequent withdrawl. I'd say that the worth of contentment depends on the individual, and the point of that person's life. Those who get *tons* of enjoyment out of the fun times, and only feel a little of the negative that comes afterwards have a small need to find contentment. My roomate really enjoys the feeling of being drunk. He enjoys being silly and social; he can more readily deal with the hangover and the fights, for the party is well worth it to him. Those of us who don't get tons of joy from the happy times, and feel the full weight of the negative, have a TON of reason to seek contentment. I do not enjoy the sensation of being drunk, I feel too much worry for the well-being of others at the parties to let myself full "go", and the hangovers suck major ***. Thus, for me, drinking, partying et al is not worthwhile. Contentment has more direct value. So to answer the OP: it depends. I personally feel that most people cause themselves much uneeded pain and stress, the seeking contentment is a value way to avoid that pain, but for some people, the amount of enjoyment may create a worthwhile balance. And don't forget that people change over time. Maybe, 40 years from now, I'll love getting drunk and partying, and my roomate will decide that it is more rewarding to sit at home reading a book.
