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{Opinion Article}

Originally posted June 11, 2023

Every day we are scrolling and clicking through more and more content (yes I’m contributing), but is this making us more or less emotionally content (as a state of existence)? A question each of us must answer for ourselves.

We are increasingly bombarded with social media content telling us we want and need more content, better content! Content that captivates, holds our attention, and satisfies, if not more…Somehow.

Continuous efforts are in progress to integrate every part of our lives onto the web, turning even more of our daily activities into opportunities for our lives to become more dependent on social media platforms, programs, and apps for business, finance, health, and all areas of personal life.

We must answer this crucial question, which is worth more – having more content or being more content?

(I will Italicize all instances of the word content as a state of being satisfied (pronounced kən-ˈtent or kuhn-tent) for the sake of differentiation in this article)

What if we could be more content? More content with our possessions? More content with our jobs/careers? More content with our relationships? Our appearance? Our appetites…? Our abilities, age, time…? Our lives…? Our world…?

I have mixed heritage, but I have often wondered if my native ancestors were any happier than we are today. Were people happy before the Industrial and Technological Revolutions? We seem to have these unchallenged notions that because we are newer and our inventions are newer, we must be better off than those who lived before us. Our lives must be better for it. We must be better.

Maybe that’s the case, maybe not. Many of our modern advancements are blamed for contributing to increased unhappiness and discontentment. Maybe it’s so (and I, for one, am in agreement) but it may be still, that we -both in times past and present- have had the same opportunity to be happy and content as anyone else.

Maybe we can try.

So, how do we do it?

How to be content:

Start with the basics… There are only a few material goods in life we truly need to get us through a single day. Food, shelter, and clothing. Do you have these things? If so, you’re in a great place to start being content. (I would say love and health are two less tangible things we need, another article).

Shelter

Our idea of “shelter” today may be a much more expensive stretch than our primitive ancestors (or our army men). I’ve slept in tents and tried living in a yurt. There’s only so much rest you can get wondering how thick the layer of mesh between you and a nearby pack of coyotes is. The tents I see many homeless people sheltered under, (the common polyester camping tents) are not really made to withstand more than a light rain. Better than nothing, but I think gives us more appreciation for more durably built shelters, aka housing.

Still, many people, especially in the past several years have turned to alternative means of housing as we face natural disasters, social unrest, immigration, job instability, and the like. Some people are simply becoming more minimalist and normalizing the idea that less is more and even preferable. (Personally, I think maybe we have put too much emphasis on “everyone is supposed to have permanent residence” and haven’t taken into account the migratory nature of humans. I digress…) Another problem is one can often be stigmatized for downsizing or being content with less. That’s not good for the economy, right? Not good for looks and prestige?

Not to mention, all the policies and government regulations in place to discourage a life of contentment when you can barely put up any structure without a permit, or collect rain water, or legally live without electricity (in some areas these are laws and maybe for good reason, maybe not.).

I don’t remember a time when the land was free and belonged to no one…but my native ancestors spoke of how it used to be for thousands of years before colonialism came. But, because of the lack of contentment, and global greed, we war to claim and own what might have already been ours if we had been content enough to see it.

I think we should not only practice being content, but allowing others to be content. Even if that means allowing them to be content in their billion-dollar mansion or their live-in camper. Each should live with whatever means they have to be content, since being content is less about what you have and more about how you perceive your material goods in relation to your peace of mind.

This of course doesn’t mean our material possessions can’t change or that we can’t aspire to want something worth working for, it just means we acknowledge that what we presently have in the moment is enough for our present well-being and a sense of resting in gratitude for it all.

Food

Food could be an area some find difficult to be content. Some -I think it’s safe to say many- in our culture are ruled by their appetites; constantly thinking about and being motivated by food. We have plenty of content revolving around food -namely advertisements. These content-campaigns have successfully created an obesity epidemic as people no longer find the simple gruel they once ate to be satisfying anymore and must have meat and sugar with each meal.* Other content-campaigns have led people to loathe their self-image and contributed to unhealthy relationships with food, such as anorexia.

*Future articles to come as to how this relates to coronavirus. 🙂

The other difficulty in being content with food is among the health-food activist groups. We are now almost equally being bombarded with an overload of dangerous-foods-movement-content (much appreciated to those in this work). With the understanding that so much of our food is genetically modified, over-processed, contaminated with non-food additives, harmful chemicals, and common produce lacking the once-held nutritional “content” it used to have, how is one supposed to be content eating such food?

My advice is to eat with a good conscience. Try your best to avoid harmful foods, but be grateful that you can eat at all and grateful that you can support efforts to improve food quality (or not support the opposite when in your power to do so).

Whether we have a gourmet meal or a pot of beans, from the garden, grocer or take-out -May we be content to eat the best we have available to us.

Clothing

I was going to skip this one, as I think it speaks for itself, but this is an area that can have a huge impact on people being discontent.

How many people do you know who can never have enough new clothes in order to keep up with the latest fashion trends or their own satisfaction with their self-image? Maybe you’re one of them. People like getting new things. A new outfit can boost someone’s mood or confidence, but isn’t it funny how the same article months or a couple of years down the road can have the opposite effect? Think about it. Especially the ones you never even touched after buying?

How much is enough? My advice here is before buying something new, clean out your closet. You might be surprised to find something you already have. Or, find at least a few items to get rid of, an equal amount going out before bringing more in. This will help you decide if you’re really ready to part with anything you already have, keep your supply steady, and you can gift the discards to charitable causes like The Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.

Next ask yourself, “Why am I buying this? Is this really a need or am I contributing to the consumerist mentality? Am I just buying this out of social pressure or to make myself feel better about some unresolved issue I need to deal with another way? Don’t worry, you won’t have to get this philosophical with every shopping trip once it becomes habit.

Also ask yourself, “How many times am I really going to wear this?” If it’s only once, and it’s a wedding dress, get it. Please. Otherwise, if you’re looking for something for a special occasion, consider clothing rental shops or borrowing from a friend.

I’m one of those weird people that shops like once a year or per season. I get everything we need and avoid window shopping or constantly checking to browse new lines or merch. This keeps me out of trouble with my budget and I get to avoid crowds. Not saying it’s for everyone. 🙂

Being Content

Being content is when you want nothing more at present. You are satisfied with what you have. When you can eat and say, “I’ve had my fill.” When you can find something to feel grateful and blessed about. When you can calm down and rest a moment. One of my favorite Hebrew scriptures is from the Psalms.

Psalm 131 A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

Reader Challenge: There are so many things that can make us feel discontent. It’s worth spending some time figuring out where our biggest area of discontentment comes from and what things help us be more content.

Can we be satisfied with the amount of knowledge we have or do we always have to be ever-expanding, ever-reaching for further and further information, technology, pushing the borders of our understanding of science and space and the farthest expanses in the heavens? Maybe we can even reach to the seat of God to understand all the mysteries of God and unravel the science of how life was created, maybe if we just learn a little more, we could wield that power too, as lucifer was so keen on possessing…

How much do we need to know before we can feel satisfied? How much do we need to have learned before we can start enjoying life, start living content with what we have, start putting into practice what we already know? How much do we need?

Do we really need more or do we already have enough?

If you’re a content creator like myself, I encourage you to create content that allows others to feel content, if you can.

I added a picture of myself in front of a Tipi at a Native American pow wow I attended. The table set was also bought from one of my trades-neighbors and was really happy to enjoy it in my backyard where I find most of my contentment. The tent is supposed to be an image to help remind you to be con-TENT. 🙂

Contentedly yours,

iam:ForeverBlessed

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Feel free to share your angle and perspective or how you find ways to be more content in the comment section below! Thank you for reading and supporting independent journalism!

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