Thursday, December 9, 2010

Content & Unsatisfied

Several weeks ago my husband started telling me quite often that "we have everything we need, and lack nothing". It's sort of became a motto in our home.

During Thanksgiving weekend, we stayed with my in-laws in Dallas. I'm sure I've mentioned this a couple of times, but my husband (and his family of course) are from Colombia. Which explains why their dish network provides all the Colombian channels and the reason why we watched the Colombian news while we stayed with them.

I blame it on the tons of work I have, but I learned that weekend that Colombia was going through some major floodings. Anytime we see tragic news, where people are losing their homes and belongings it hurts, but I think it hurts even more when it's happening in your native country.

The next day, Gerson and I went to have lunch w/ Ari. Discussing the situation in Colombia then lead to this conversation. Gerson told my sister that for the past weeks he tried to think of something he NEEDED (not wanted). Daily he would think of one thing he desparately needed and would come up with nothing.

Gerson then said that he realized that the society we lived in had no satisfaction. Our society always wants more of all the STUFF. We want more material things, we want more money, we want more from our relationships, we want more in our careers. We simply are never satisfied because we often think "If I had an Ipad..." "If I had a boyfriend"... "If I had a house" ... I would be satisfied. But the truth is you wouldn't, because you would still want more!

Now, is there anything wrong with wanting more? Gerson, Ari, and me came to the conclusion, that it's part of our society and nature to want more. All 3 of us, are dedicated, determined, ambitious, and hard workers by nature. I doubt we will ever settle or give up on the goals we want to achieve. But sometimes we just need to be like a children and be content. Look and see that you probably do have everything you need.

I guess the best way to phrase it would be to passionately work towards those goals and things you want, but live the present contently. Let's count our blessings and look at the things we do have. I'm sure that the people reading this blog have tons of the STUFF!

Moving to San Antonio took a twirl for us. Being unemployed, financially limited, and now living on one income has taught me more than I ever imagined. I've definitely learned to value the things I do have and live happily with just that.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Adri,
Like always I love reading your posts. This one in particular hit home for me. I totally agree with Gerson's comment about living in a unsatisfied society and not being content. That is why I am thankful for my job. It allows me to see how blessed I am and puts things in perspective for me. It helps me realize how fortunate I am. I count my blessings everyday because I do have everything I need and it is only because of God's grace and love.

Adri said...

Yes Cindy, we are very fortunate and it's all because of His grace and love. I'm glad you enjoyed this post. Love you!