Type in the word "happiness" on Amazon's search engine and you'll see over 22,000 books on the subject. "Contentment" will give you 1, 200 results while "peace" results in over 72,000 selections. I chuckle when I consider how many books have been penned about peace and wonder how many more will be written before the subject is exhausted.
It strikes me that there is a relationship between contentment and happiness and yet relatively few books have been written on the subject of contentment. Contentment means to be in a state of satisfaction. Another word for satisfaction is happiness. Those who are content are satisfied and therefore experience happiness.
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (who lived from 1614-1691) was content with doing dishes at the Carmelite Monastery where he spent the better part of his life. His time in the priory is often summed up in this way, "He spent almost all of the rest of his life within the walls of the priory, working in the kitchen for most of his life and as a repairer of sandals in his later years. Despite his lowly position in life and the priory, his character attracted many to him. He had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him." In short, Brother Lawrence was content and his state of contentment and the character he developed from it drew others to him.
In 1978 a group of researchers conducted a study that measured the level of happiness in two very different groups of people. One group was composed of recent large jackpot lottery winners. The other group was composed of recent accident victims who found out that they would never walk again. What researchers found was that both groups were equally happy one year after their life changing events. The take home was that external circumstances really do not affect our happiness. Winning the lottery doesn't make people happier and losing your ability to walk doesn't take away happiness.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, the very bright and wealthy statesman, Roman philosopher, lawyer, orator and political theorist said this: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” This statement, of course, is subjective and may apply to your life but it likely does not. For Cicero, books and fresh veggies brought satisfaction and fulfillment. But the greater point is that he found two relatively simple things (and he had a lot to chose from given his wealth, knowledge and position) that fulfilled him.
Happiness, it seems, is a choice. But, it seems that it is often overshadowed by our pursuit of it. Strangely we cover our happiness by chasing after happiness. The lottery winners, paraplegics, Cicero, and Brother Lawrence discovered that they already had their happiness needs met.
What is it for you? Could you simplify your life enough to uncover two things that satisfy you? Try it. My bet is that you already have the things that make you happy. Discover those things. Do them often. And don't let anyone (mainly marketers) tell you that you're not already happy. Don't chase happiness, uncover it...you already have it.
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