Beauty versus contentment

[Altruistic Muse]

It seems to me, and I'm not sure if this is actually the case, that most people experience either one or the other of these. That by overanalysing things it is difficult to be contented, because if everything is questioned and reassessed on a constant basis then how is there time to be contented? Personally it is not something I have ever really experienced, because as soon as I feel happy something else pops into my head to worry about. I am at my most content when I stay busy for very long periods so that it takes my mind of worrying, while allowing me to daydream and ponder productively.

I think though, in contrast, that if a person doesn't think about everyone and everything around them deeply, they are not appreciating the beauty that life has to offer. A lot of people, a hell of a lot, just plod along and do things in the order that is expected of them and live in a bubble. Well if the boundaries are already set then contentment is easy, because there is no need to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone. But if you don't stretch yourself intellectually and through your experiences, and through your expectations of life and of other people, then how can you be excited or disappointed, and take on the emotions that make you feel alive? It makes me so happy when a person exceeds my expectations, especially because the bar is set so high. When people help eachother and are kind hearted it makes my day. If I was to consider everyone as a separate entity unrelated to me because they are not someone I know or part of my family, then all these interactions would have no impact on me and this would be a great loss. In addition if I was to refrain from pushing my intellect and learning new skills, would I not stagnate even if I was to feel contented? I could not imagine not being excited by beautiful language, learning new vocabulary, absorbing atmospheres of beautiful places. So many people seem to be going through life and ticking off boxes as they go.

I just wonder if anyone thinks you can experience both beauty and contentment, wholly, at once. And if not, which would you prefer?

 

[anica]

Personally, the shortest road to contentment is to keep my mind still, free of analysis, expectation and anticipation. This also leaves me free to absorb the beauty around me, and to appreciate new experiences as well. It's not easy to do and keeping my mind still of its usual chatter requires a self-discipline I don't always have, but when I can manage it, I enjoy beauty and contentment of the deepest nature.

 

[Puck]

I think it's possible to have both. It takes practice, and I'm still learning, but basically you tune out the negatives, where a focus on gratitude helps for the difficult times, and tune into the positives. There's beauty in everything. Sometimes it requires using your imagination to find it and sometimes it's startlingly obvious. It helps if you retain a childlike sense of wonder: observe children, do the things that made you happy as a child etc. Mastering certain human skills shouldn't take away from the appreciation of the simple things.

 

[Orion]

It's funny because I'm always envious of people who live their lives without over analysing everything and always looking for answers etc. Those people that live in bubbles appear to be the happy ones! I wish I could be as contented as they are, that my mind could sit still and not read into everything in life- to be happy for what I have and not always be looking for the better or an alternative.

There are a few big things that I want in life. Something tells me that when I acheive/gain these things I will be content. But how can I really know that?

 

[Altruistic Muse]

It's funny because I'm always envious of people who live their lives without over analysing everything and always looking for answers etc. Those people that live in bubbles appear to be the happy ones! I wish I could be as contented as they are, that my mind could sit still and not read into everything in life- to be happy for what I have and not always be looking for the better or an alternative.

There are a few big things that I want in life. Something tells me that when I acheive/gain these things I will be content. But how can I really know that?

I like to think when I have kids and a family, which is kind of what I have been working towards, as long as this is at the right time etc, then I will be contented. This is probably as contented as I will get but I doubt it'll come close to what the people in the bubbles seem to have, because I will always be questioning. I agree that I have always envied them. But at the same time i don't know that I would want to be them.

 

[Orion]

This is probably as contented as I will get but I doubt it'll come close to what the people in the bubbles seem to have, because I will always be questioning. I agree that I have always envied them. But at the same time i don't know that I would want to be them.

Yeah, me too.

I didn't used to think much of marriage and kids but the thought of finding a girl/woman that you want to be with for the rest of your life and have kids with is pretty amazing really.

 

[anica]

I like to think when I have kids and a family, which is kind of what I have been working towards, as long as this is at the right time etc, then I will be contented. This is probably as contented as I will get but I doubt it'll come close to what the people in the bubbles seem to have, because I will always be questioning. I agree that I have always envied them. But at the same time i don't know that I would want to be them.

Good luck with the contentment/family/kids thing. My experience was that I was content while pregnant and breastfeeding, but I think thaat was mostly a result of hormones. Once my sons were toddlers, the uproar and over-analyzing started all over again, to the point that I started law school when they were two and four, just to give myself something substantial to chew on. But contentmen? No. That didn't come till after my stroke when I had to learn to take each day--each moment--as it came or risk coming apart at the seams.

 

[Faye]

I think beauty is contentment. There is a difference between thinking deeply and being analytical I think.

 

[Arg]

While beauty is fleeting yet profound, contentment can usually be chalked up to a type of gentle resignation. Give me the hot quick beauty of fireworks any day.