Discontent

Is it ever possible to be content for long periods of time?  Will we ever have exactly what we want?

I read blogs where woman are upset that their men are away, a perfectly understandable thing.  But what about the woman who don't have men and are looking?  Do the women with husbands have it better and shouldn't be discontent?  Maybe, maybe not, everybody is subject to the emotions whether they are of loneliness because there is no man or loneliness because they miss their man.  Women without men have more freedom in their personal lives since they don't have to check with anybody about what they do with their lives, but having someone to do things with is a huge thing.  Unattached women are not subject to the little annoyances that come with living with someone, but the trade off is loneliness.

I read blogs where women are worried because they don't have a job or their husband doesn't have a job.  If one of them has a job should they be less discontent than a couple who have both been out of work?  If they have a home, they are better off than people who live in homeless shelters or are on the street?  But maybe the emotions of being without a job and waiting to be homeless are worse than when it has already happened. 

I heard a man speaking the other day about losing his two year old daughter.  Would he have been better off had she never been born, even though having her die was such an emotionally devastating thing?  He said he had done nothing to deserve her coming into his life and he was glad to have had her for two short years, but when she died he said he had done nothing to deserve having her taken from him.  I guess he embraced, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Is his worse off or better off than someone who has never had children, but has also never experienced that kind of love? 

I heard another man who was talking about getting a horrible disease and not being able to find a doctor to help him.  It took him many months to find someone who could help him.  He started an internet service to help other people who found themselves in the same situation.  He said he hadn't given God credit for his good health, so why should he blame him for the bad health. 

I have come to the conclusion that much of life is a mixed blessing.  You probably won't ever be totally content with how things are. Perhaps we, as humans, are meant to have some peaks and valleys.  I guess the idea of not knowing when you are on the mountain until you have experienced the valley is true. 

I am trying more and more to embrace a grateful spirit and see the things that I do have and the things I should be grateful for instead of focusing on the things I don't have. I am sure I'll never to totally content with the way my life is going, but I should be happy about the good things and not discount them because I don't have everything I want. 

I remember a Northern Exposure episode in which Marilyn Whirlwind tells a story:

“My uncle once told me about a warrior who had a fine stallion. Everybody said how lucky he was to have such a horse. “Maybe,” he said. One day the stallion ran off. The people said the warrior was unlucky. “Maybe,” he said. Next day, the stallion returned, leading a string of fine ponies. The people said it was very lucky. “Maybe,” the warrior said. Later, the warrior’s son was thrown from one of the ponies and broke his leg. The people said it was unlucky. “Maybe,” the warrior said. The next week, the chief led a war party against another tribe. Many young men were killed. But, because of his broken leg, the warrior’s son was left behind, and so was spared.”

We can't see the future and the burden of today may actually be the blessing of tomorrow and we just don't know it yet.  I'm trying to remember that.