Contentment

Should you think about your duty, or about the consequences of your actions? Or should you concentrate on becoming a good person?

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Jori
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Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:58 am

Contentment

Post by Jori »

Can we be happy without doing anything but by simply deciding to be satisfied with wharever our circumstances are? Is happiness only in the mind?
Walker
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Re: Contentment

Post by Walker »

Form follows function. Genuine smiles are the result of genuine happiness. Smiling does not make one happy. Many unhappy people wear a smile mask.
surreptitious57
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Re: Contentment

Post by surreptitious57 »

Happiness and contentment are quite not the same
The former is more idealistic / the latter is more practical
One can be happy some of the time but content most of the time
And therefore contentment is far more attainable than happiness
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Lacewing
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Re: Contentment

Post by Lacewing »

Jori wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:30 am Can we be happy without doing anything but by simply deciding to be satisfied with wharever our circumstances are? Is happiness only in the mind?
I think it is a state of mind or energy, which may or may not involve a decision or choice, and which could be influenced by many self-driven factors: patterns, habits, practices, intention, flexibility, etc. Acceptance seems to expand potential, whereas resistance seems to narrow it down.

There are many examples of people who maintain joy and happiness despite seemingly horrific circumstances, while there are people who are miserable despite extraordinary bounty and comfort. Between those two extremes, people are all across the spectrum of whether or not they feel happiness and contentment, so it doesn't seem to be dependent on situation -- but those who are unhappy might claim that it is.

Also, people may tend toward happiness or unhappiness, consciously or not, and independent of anything discernable -- which seems to suggest (to me) that there might be a type of energy/vibration that people are attuning to. Or, another way of looking at it: As highly programmable beings, our capability might be based on the quality of software we are running -- and whether we are regularly upgrading/expanding our potential.
Jori
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Re: Contentment

Post by Jori »

So, we can be contented by simply deciding to be contented, but happiness is more demanding. You cannot be happy without doing anything. and simply being satisfied. Interesting point. Is happiness a feeling and contentment is just a state of being?
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Dontaskme
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Re: Contentment

Post by Dontaskme »

surreptitious57 wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:57 pm Happiness and contentment are quite not the same
The former is more idealistic / the latter is more practical
One can be happy some of the time but content most of the time
And therefore contentment is far more attainable than happiness
Beautifully said.
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