Choose Contentment- Don't Chase It
Sometimes it feels like we are all running a really long, fast, and hard race. Zipping around, trying to get “a million things done.” Never completing our endless to-do lists. And then feeling guilty about it. Trying to be perfect. To change the world. Oh, and to be graceful yogis who are present in every moment. It can be crazy making. Santosha can help us all to breathe, be grateful, and find some joy in the every day.
Santosha is the practice of contentment. Contentment isn’t exactly the same as happiness. Contentment is feeling peaceful in what IS. It is the moments when ambition and drive gets a little quieter. When I have a flash of deep gratitude for my children, my husband, my career, my home, my body.
I am a super ambitious, high energy, entrepreneurial, mom. I love these parts of myself, and they have served me well in having a happy, successful, and fulfilling life.
AND, there are times when I am chasing contentment. When I just want to feel like I’ve done enough, contributed enough, succeeded enough. As I’ve been contemplating Santosha, I had a moment of clarity.
Instead of chasing contentment, perhaps I could just choose contentment. We’re always trying to figure things out and do things perfectly. We’re so terrified of screwing up or failing. What if we could just choose contentment? Not every second, but a few more seconds each day. Really embrace the gift that life is, and just choose what is so. Right now.
I know you might be thinking, “How the hell do I do that?” Just like you choose chocolate ice cream. Or which underwear you’ll wear in the morning. Or getting on your yoga mat. You pause, breathe, and choose to appreciate what is so, even if just for a fleeting moment.
Sometimes it’s harder than others. I get that. I’m a cancer survivor, and there were moments when it felt impossible to choose chemo. BUT, I chose community, and allowed my loved ones to support me. I chose life, and continued to laugh and love throughout the hardship. There is always choice. Why not choose Santosha?
I’m calling it Santosha sunshine this month. And, I’m soaking it up. Join me. On the mat, and off, let’s choose contentment in as many moments as we can.
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