Quotes About Contentment

The opposite of patience is aggression—the desire to jump and move, to push against our lives, to try to fill up space.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

Authentic joy is not a euphoric state or a feeling of being high. Rather, it is a state of appreciation that allows us to participate fully in our lives. We train in rejoicing in the good fortune of self and others.

Meditation is a process of lightening up, of trusting the basic goodness of what we have and who we are, and of realizing that any wisdom that exists, exists in what we already have.

There's a richness to all of the smelly stuff that we so dislike and so little desire. The delightful things—what we love so dearly about ourselves, the places in which we feel some sense of pride or inspiration—these also are our wealth.

Could we just settle down and have some compassion and respect for ourselves? Could we stop trying to escape from being alone with ourselves? What about practicing not jumping and grabbing when we begin to panic? Relaxing with loneliness is a worthy occupation. As the Japanese poet Ryokan says, "If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so many things.

If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so many things.

We may find that we're habitually focused on incompleteness. We have thoughts such as "I am unworthy, I am lacking, the world is nothing but problems." With this outlook, we will see imperfection wherever we look and always feel dissatisfied.

We already have everything we need.

Basing your comfort on things that don't last is a futile strategy for living. Even when you get something you've always wanted, the pleasure you get lasts for such a short time.

Acknowledging the preciousness of each day is a good way to live, a good way to reconnect with our basic joy.

There are six ways of describing this kind of cool loneliness. They are: less desire, contentment, avoiding unnecessary activity, complete discipline, not wandering in the world of desire, and not seeking security from one's discursive thoughts.

Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way.

Obsessing about getting what you want and avoiding what you don't want does not result in happiness.

The key instruction is to stay in the present. Don't get caught up in hopes of what you'll achieve and how good your situation will be some day in the future. What you do right now is what matters.

It describes an experience of complete hopelessness, of completely giving up hope. This is an important point. This is the beginning of the beginning. Without giving up hope—that there's somewhere better to be, that there's someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.

The basic thing is to realize that we have everything going for us. We don't have extreme pain that's inescapable. We don't have total pleasure that lulls us into ignorance. When we start feeling depressed, it's helpful to reflect on that. Maybe this is a good time to read the newspapers a lot and remember how terrifying life can be.

BEING ABLE to lighten up is the key to feeling at home with your body, mind, and emotions, to feeling worthy to live on this planet.

we don't have to obscure the joy and openness that is present in every moment of our existence.

As Leonard Cohen once said about the benefits of many years of meditation, "The less there was of me, the happier I got.

Life is too short for anger, resentment, hostility and "should have." It is too short to put off doing what brings you joy. Live each day as if it were your last, because one day it will be.

When I'm alone, I can sleep crossways in bed without an argument.

A real pleasure is a pleasure that one enjoys by one's self, without a companion, and without a single argument.

Nobody gets killed when they're happy. It always starts with an argument, or a debt.