|
|
Dalton
Roberts |
|
|
|
It matters not how much you achieve or how much
money you make if you don’t find contentment. Yet there appears to be
a conspiracy against contentment. Television is constantly goading us to get up
and do something to make ourselves look better, cook better, feel better
or smell better. Contentment with what we are and how we smell is out of
the question. In one week’s mail I have gotten a half dozen
powerful urgings to attend workshops or to read books that prick and
prod one to set higher goals or to focus on saving the world. If you
have found contentment get ready to be blitzed by those with a bias
against bliss. There is certainly a time in life for goal
setting but there is also a time to set our goals aside. Most of the
hours of our days and nights we need to set our minds to the pleasures
we are enjoying or the projects on our work tables. To constantly be
whipping ourselves like a horse to run faster and faster actually works
against doing well on what we are doing. But the larger issue is that it
keeps us from squeezing the joy juice out of the orange of today. Shinzen Young teaches a meditation method he
calls “slow movement.” It is very simple. Just slow down no matter
what you are doing. I mean half speed. If you are washing dishes,
intentionally go very slow. You will have to keep slowing down because
after only seconds of slowing down, you will find yourself speeding up.
Stay with it and do it often for it can immerse you in the moment in a
powerful way. Yes, it is simple but that does not mean it is
easy. The one and only difficulty with it is our habitual frenzied pace
of living. Experiment with it and you will see. The first time you do
it, you will experience a keen awareness of deep relaxation. Despite
that reward, you will not find it easier to do the second time. Old
habits die slowly and they scream and cuss you a lot while they are
croaking. I think this run run, push push, grab grab,
climb climb thing is mainly something we Americans have inflicted upon
ourselves. A beautiful Internet story makes this point in telling about
an American docking his boat in a Mexican coastal village and
complimenting a Mexican fisherman on the quality of his catch. “How long did it take you to catch them?” he
asked the Mexican. “Not very long,” the Mexican replied. “Then why don’t you devote more time to it
and make more money?” the American wondered. “Well,” the Mexican answered, “I catch
enough to provide a good living for my family. I sleep late, play with
my children, take a nap with my wife and in the evenings I go into the
village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play my guitar and sing a
few songs.” The American with his MBA from Harvard offered
to help the Mexican, assuring him he could help him build a fleet of
trawlers and establish a booming fish business, then sell it all for
millions. The Mexican asked, “After that, what?” The American said, “Oh, it will be wonderful!
You will be able to retire when you are an old man. You can sleep late,
play with your children, take a nap with your wife, and go into town in
the evenings to see your friends, have a few drinks, play your guitar
and sing a few songs.” This one made me chuckle but it also made me
look at all the great things I am able to enjoy right now and every day
of my life – things that bring deep contentment. Getting rich and
famous is not a prerequisite for contentment. As Barney Morgan used to
say, “My refrigerator will get my milk as cold as any rich man’s.”
|
