Contentment Brings Happiness

One of the most persistent obstacles we encounter to happiness, peace, and well-being is our tendency to argue about how things are. Acceptance brings freedom and unleashes our power.
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian

Life happens. There are times when we wish that things were different. We wish we had a different relationship with someone. We wish that someone that we loved had not died. We wish that an illness (either ours or someone else's) was not affecting us. We wish we were not growing older. The list can go on and on. When we dwell in that mindset of wishing that something was different than it is, we suffer. We are unhappy. But we can change our mindset and reconnect with our happiness and inner peace. We can accept what is, discern if there is something we can do to change it, and do that. And if not, we can let go of the wishing, accept and focus on what is good in our life. Then we can move on to discover what we can do to positively contribute to the world. In the ancient yogic spiritual scripture of the Yoga Sutras of Patajali we read that "Contentment provides supreme peace and happiness. Y.S. II:42."
We are so much more powerful when we take control of our lives and accept what is instead of letting "wishing it were different" control our lives. The life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who recently died, reminds us of how we can live in joy, even in spite of many hardships. He suffered great difficulties as a black man living in a country with extreme racial prejudice, but instead of being angry and bitter he showed us the power of what joy can be. He took this power and made a difference in the lives of many. Accept life on its own terms, be content and live in joy.