Now please don’t read me wrong. I’m by no means coming from the point of view of having to be ‘satisfied with your lot‘. Just sharing the thought that contentment or to be content, is an inner state of being. Which while it can be influenced by material things and external circumstances, is not bound by or dependent on them.
I myself have experienced times of plenty and times of lack, and have mostly worked in settings where there is often a great lack of material things, access to opportunity etc. Yet, I have witnessed and experienced (both personally and as an observer) some of the most meaningful interactions, connections, examples of friendship and community in these moments and spaces.
Once again, please don’t read me wrong, I am not romanticising these moments and spaces. There are structural injustices which unnecessarily keep some sections of society, and specific communities in a state of lack. This is wrong, and we should not be content about that.
It would also be wrong, however, to assume -as one could do- that those without much by way of wealth, possessions and so on are devoid of real joy and live a ‘less than’ life.
Okay, didn’t intend to write such a word stream, so I’m signing off.