An English monk, vacillating in his search for the perfect life, the perfect teacher, had come and gone, ordained and disrobed, several times. "This monk," Achaan Chah finally chided, "has dog droppings in his monk's bag, and he thinks every place smells bad."
*Achaan Chah. A Still Forest Pool. Comp. Jack Kornfield & Paul Breiter.
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The wonderful place I live and work, I tried to escape more than once. I did not feel wonderful about being there. Two times in about a year, I was a day from finalizing a move. Both times I had a written resignation, one submitted, one not. Finally, I realized what needed to change to be at peace where I lived was within, not outside.
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Sometimes, we need to change locale, job, affiliation, or relationship. Some places and persons are toxic or abusive, and we need to distance ourselves.
A factor in leaving my last hospice job was leadership permitting continuing abuse from a colleague. Contentment was present in making that decision. Contentment means something other than being okay with staying when what is best is leaving. Contentment does not mean accepting abuse or enabling a system to allow it. Now, I work with a team of mutually supportive chaplains, a joy to work with. In the change, I forfeited a lot of income, including health insurance, but I have not once regretted leaving.
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If the felt need to change is due to inner discontent, we take that with us. We find the same dissatisfaction elsewhere. The new place or person or thing may enchant us for a time, but that will end soon.
Contentment where we are, with what we are doing, begins with us. Contentment is a quality of inner life. When we are content, we can stay or leave freely. We are not attached to what is or could be.
With contentment, we might begin to see what we tried to escape is just what we need and want – wonderful. If change is needed later, okay, if not, okay.
A Christian scripture reads 'godliness with contentment is great gain." Yes. For us to lead a good life, contented and generous, is priceless.
*Use of photography is allowed accompanied by credit given to Brian K. Wilcox and title and place of photograph.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
