Contentment (Santosha)
Contentment or Santosha in Yoga Philosophy entails seeing the little wonders about life and being grateful for it.
Could it be that you are richer than you think? Could it be that abundance is around you all along? Could it be that this is heaven and we are just not choosing to recognize it? Maybe, You are more abundant than you think.
In his book called Being Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote something like Life is full of suffering, but also life is full of wonders.
And he further illustrates his point with a good example of having a tooth ache. When we have a toothache, we swear we will be happy when its gone. However, once we do not have the toothache anymore, we are still not happy…there are still so much things to complain about.
That is a great example of how when we are blessed with so many things, we often fail to see and recognize it. There is so much wonders waiting to be discovered, appreciated and experienced, but it all starts with the decision to actually see them.
And I wonder so much about this because it aligns very well with one Yoga philosophy: Santosha or Contentment.
Now, we can say it is hard to be contented when there is so much things to complain about!
Of course, but you see, contentment, like gratitude is a choice. And if we choose to wait for things to be alright and perfect before we decide to be grateful or contented, then its NEVER gonna happen.
If you do not choose to be contented or grateful now, then we can never be wealthy enough, perfect enough, abundant enough. Because all these things starts from being contented in the little things.
Now this is not to say that you cannot aspire for more, or dream for more or have goals, it is just that being contented now sets the stage, and the vibrational energy for more goodness to come in to your life. So not only you will feel abundant now, you are actually attracting for more to come.
When we are contented, we realize that we are more abundant than we think, and we become magnets for more good things.
Little Wonders
Some mornings, I wake up before my household does and sneak into the couch downstairs where there is a warm fuzzy blanket and two cuddly pillows, the feeling of the soft, cool pillow against my cheeks is such a luxury!
The peaceful, quiet time when no one is awake but me is so precious. A wonder.
Whenever I hear my children giggling, then squealing and running around the house like they want to tear it apart- I smile. It is not quiet and peaceful, no, but I am thankful for their health, agility and silliness. A wonder!
On cold days, I love putting on my green knit sweater. The light texture and the warmth against my skin is so pleasant, I feel 100x better!
Sipping hot tea. Watering plants. Cooking dinner. All wonders.
Now, if you look around you, what small things can actually feel like luxury? Begin there, and see just how it will be easy to see more and more of the good things that you can appreciate.
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