This post will deal with the subject of contentment. Many, MANY American adults have absolutely no concept of this character trait. Americans are known for constantly wanting more and more and more. We are never satisfied. Is that a bad thing? It is when it applies to stuff.
The Definition of Contentment
Webster defines contentment as ease of mind or satisfaction. I like the idea of ease of mind as a definition. That implies a lack of internal strife and striving. Being satisfied is what most people think when they consider contentment. I will take it a little further. The best word picture I have ever found for contentment is found in Psalms 131:2 "Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me." The picture of the weaned child depicts a lack of striving. The child has ceased to demand the breast and will sit in his mother's lap satisfied with the situation. Contentment involves a quietness of the soul that accepts what comes without fear of the future. For those of us who are Christians, it is that place where we are totally dependent on God and satisfied in that position.
Count Your Blessings
How in the world do we as adults achieve this awesome quietness of soul called contentment? I truly believe the first step involves counting your blessings on a daily basis. When we look at what we have rather than what we do not have, it changes our perspective. This works for people with much and people with little. In fact, sometimes I think it works best for those with not so much to little. For people who do not have all the things that they desire, it is easy to get caught up in constantly wanting those things. We see the beautiful new car driving down the road while we are driving a car that is 20 years old, and sometimes it can be hard to be thankful for that 20 year old car until it breaks down leaving us with no car. Then when we get our car back we are very thankful for our 20 year old car. Contentment comes into play when we can look at the things we have even if they are not the greatest and are thankful for them. We force ourselves to realize that having what we have is better than having nothing.
Stop Complaining
After we reach the point where we can count our blessings, the next step involves ceasing to complain. For some people if they could not complain, they would have nothing to say. Complaining has become such a huge part of their personality that it is almost like a security blanket. Complaining is the only way they feel comfortable. However, complaining becomes a poison of the soul because we dwell on what is wrong and what we do not have. A person cannot count his/her blessings and complain at the same time. I know we all complain especially when we get hit with something unexpected and unpleasant. However, do you live there? Can you rise above the situation and look for the good? Or do you settle into a complaining mentality and wrap it around yourself like a blanket? The people that can move beyond the initial shock of unexpected and unpleasant circumstances to find the good in the situation are the people that have learned the secret of contentment. They understand how to have the ease of mind that contentment can bring.
Be Okay with Not Getting Your Way
How does this relate to the early childhood world? My word picture described a weaned child, which is a child in early childhood. Therefore, contentment is not something that is out of reach for young children. The main lesson young children learn as far as contentment goes involves learning to be okay with not getting their way. However, in order for them to learn this lesson it is necessary for them to have times where they do not get their way. Our culture caters to children so badly that American young children do not really get a lot of experience dealing with not getting their way. When an opportunity arises for them to actually experience this, they throw such a hissy fit the parents/caregivers give in and let them have whatever they want. Thus, they learn to throw a hissy fit to get their way. This will never teach them contentment. Parents/Caregivers are going to have to be thick-skinned enough to let them have their hissy fits without even thinking about caving into their demands if they ever want to teach the child what it means to quiet their soul and go with the flow. A child that learns this lesson not only learns to deal with not getting what they want and being okay with that, but contented children also tend to be able to entertain themselves. It is a byproduct of contentment. Want to know why American children have such a hard time entertaining themselves? Here it is. Discontented children have to be entertained. Contented children can entertain themselves.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
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