I was driving to work this morning and a weird feeling came over me. It took me a half hour of thinking (which may be a reflection on my thinker) to figure out what it was, and then in a quiet moment of revelation it came to me: I am content.
I am happy with where I am, what I'm doing, and the state of my life and family. I'm not much to look at, but in the mirror I recognize I've earned the lines in my face. I've got a bunch of things to do better, a mental list of things I ought to do, ought to have done, need to do better next go around. But I feel content, and I realize I have never felt this before. I look at my wife and children and in spite of the many challenges any parent and spouse faces, I think, Nobody move. Let's freeze things right here and relish what we have.
Where do you stand? Contentment came at me the way Hemingway had a character explain bankruptcy -- gradually then suddenly. Are you content? If so, what makes you content? If not, why not? Take a look at your motivations and general state of your spirit and tell me what you think.
This is a very brief Contentment Challenge. Email me here and tell me what you think. To the first 10 people who respond, I will send you a $5 Starbucks card and a personal note of encouragement. Include your address and I'll make it a handwritten note. Before anybody piles on, I don't think a note from me means all that much, but the exchange of words on things that matter, matters. And since I believe that, I'll gladly write back anybody who writes me.
Are you content? My simple perch of contentment may not last forever, and it could be a gift I haul to my grave, but I like it, and I hope it for all others.
Who is up for the Contentment Challenge, while supplies last?