It is weird how a lot of people go about in their quest to accumulate so much material things and what they want to have, without even taking time to appreciate what they already have. The desperation to get things at all cost have led so many into doing unwholesome things. But if you will be able to appreciate what you have, reflect on them, be happy about them, you will see that you are actually doing great. Contentment does not mean not going after your goals, but it removes desperation from you.
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I once watched a very short but amazing video clip about contentment. A guy was stuck in traffic in his Land-Rover SUV and then he looked up and saw a helicopter fly pass him. He paused for a moment and then sighed with displeasure, and said to himself that only if he had enough money to afford a helicopter, he would not be stuck in this traffic. He did not take time to even appreciate what he could afford, yet he was discontented and was bothered about what he could did not have. In another scene, a man was in his Toyota Camry, while passed by a Jeep SUV, then he became sad that he could not afford an SUV, without being grateful for his Camry.
Again, another guy was in his motorbike and it started to rain, then he became discontented with life that if he could afford a car; any car at all, he would not be beaten by the rain. He never appreciated the bike. Then someone on foot also saw the bike man and then said "bike is still better than walking," so he felt sad that he could not afford it. While all these were happening, someone without two functioning legs was only wishing for a functioning leg and he would not mind trekking. You see, all these people had something, but yet, discontentment beclouded their eyes from seeing the good in what they have.
It is worthy to note that at any stage and phase in your life, there is something that you have that you should be contented about. Of course, many people are wishing to have a tiny fragment of what you have, but you are not even appreciative of it. In order to be contented with what you have, you have to remove competition mentality out of your mind. You have to know that everyone has their own separate path and as such, separate destinies. That someone is already reaping their rewards does not mean that yours will not come. After all, it does not take the same number of time for corn and mango tree to mature. So be contented with what you have.
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Surprisingly, a lot of people that show off flamboyant lifestyle are not even real, some are just living fake lifestyle. If you follow them in their lifestyle, you will put yourself into unnecessary and untold pressure. So be contented. Apart from the fact that contentment removes desperation, it also wards off greed. There are somethings that you will easily avoid if you overcome greed. A friend of mine once shared with me how she was scammed, and I had to ask her a couple of questions. From what I could make of it, the scammer preyed on her greed and was able to effectively scam her.
They brought to her what looked like a business opportunity but she did not consider the fact that it was looking "too good" and almost impossible to be true. If not, how will you explain how you will invest money and be paid 3x the investment in less than 24 hours without doing absolutely anything? Well, it turned out it was ponzi and they used her and other unsuspecting people to cashout. If she removed greed and the desperation to make "quick money," she would have avoided it. Without being satisfied with where you are and what you have, it might lead you to do things that are regrettable.
What you do not have now should not make you to break a sweat. It is true that "human's wants cannot be satisfied and are insatiable," but you should not allow the quest to acquire more things to becloud your mind from being appreciative of what you have. There is something I have learnt in life; there is always time for everything, and if you jump up without growing up, you will come down, but when you grow up, you remain up.
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