I just celebrated my 72nd birthday over the weekend. That number might not seem like a milestone number to some, but every since I turned 70, every birthday is a milestone to me. It means I survived one more year, and a particularly challenging and scary year at that, but came out on the other side a year wiser, at least I hope so.
Every year I get myself a gift for my birthday. It's not like I don't get lots of gifts from my family and friends, far from it. What I usually get for myself is something that no one else would think to give me because it's not always in the form of a material object or place. One year I adopted a wolf for a wildlife program sponsored by National Geographic that was working on re-homing wolves where they would be safe from hunters and could be studied. Another year I donated money to have a tree planted in my name in an area that had been devastated by lumber companies that over-cut an area and then left it to die. Sometimes my gifts don't require money, though. This year's gift was like that. This year I gave myself the gift of contentment.
Contentment is defined as: "a state of happiness and satisfaction." I refer to it as "peaceful joy." This year, especially, was one that had folks taking a long, hard look at their lives and coming to terms with what really brought them joy and what was important versus what they mistakenly believed "should" do the trick. I agree with the late Louise Hay, the Queen of Affirmations, who said that the word "should" needed to be dropped from our vocabulary because it always made you feel like you were wrong for not doing something. In fact the whole idea of having to always be productive was what came to mind this year as I contemplated my life. I realized that over the years I had already been gifted with lots of examples of what contentment looked like and felt like, but just as with so many other people, I was too busy looking ahead to see what was right in front of me all the time. So I thought I would try and think back to what those lessons were. As always, the most important lessons in my life came from nature, from the natural world around me. Mother Nature is and always will be, hands down, the best teacher around. So here are some of the examples she gave me of what contentment looked and felt like:
- Getting up at dawn and weeding the garden while everything was still covered with dew, while my animal neighbors, like the rabbits and birds, came out to greet the day with me. Now I greet the day every day instead of just rolling out of bed and heading for the coffee pot.
- Watching the blue heron who stood silently in the early morning and at dusk, in the shallows of the river outside the window of my former home, not moving and not making a sound. I learned that it's okay to do that because you can actually feel a perfect moment if you just stop rushing long enough.
- Sitting by the window on a rainy day and watching the world outside being washed clean. I learned that even in nature, no storm lasts forever and what comes out of it is new and fresh.
- Watching my beloved eagles sitting on their nest of eggs. I learned that endless patience is worth it in return for the rewards at the end.
- Sitting under a tree and just listening. I learned that the birds, the squirrels, the insects, and even the trees themselves are busy leading their own lives with no agendas other than to live, to love, and to survive just like everyone else. They are content with that.
