Theme of Discussion Zoom Meeting: Contentment

Email: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com

For several questions, I have provided links that will take you to related online information. Try coming up with your own thoughts first – then investigate the links or ignore them – whatever you wish. If the links don’t work with just clicking your mouse arrow, hold down your Ctrl key as you click. Any problems with a link please let me know: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com

We have far more questions here than we could attempt to have a good conversation about in one of our single meetings. So this time – skim over all the questions and just select three that you would like to discuss. And for our discussion today, we can just stick to those questions selected by our participants.

Questions

1. How would you define contentment?

2. Why might contentment be a better goal to reach for than happiness?

3. What is your greatest source of contentment?

4. How can you build a life toward greater contentment?

5. What causes people to find it easier to reach contentment? Their early upbringing? Their genes? Their health? Something else?

6. What is something most people would view as trivial and yet brings you closer to contentment?

7. What role, if any, can meditation play in making us more content?

8. What is the relationship of wealth and contentment?

9. How can you nourish your feelings of contentment?

10. What are the biggest obstacles to contentment?

11. If your friend asked how she could achievement contentment, what advice might you give?

12. Can you think of a person in your life who seemed to be the picture of contentment? Describe what this person was like.

13. Describe where you might live to find the greatest contentment? In our country or in another?

14. Can we be content by ourselves?

15. When you feel discontent, what can you do to make yourself feel better?

16. Without naming names, tell us about the most contented person you have ever known? How did (s)he manifest this contentment?

17. Can a child grow up to be content even though raised by parents who never seemed happy with what they had?

18. What’s one thing you would like to change about this world to make it more conducive to contentment?

19. How can grandparents play an important role in their grandchildren’s achieving contentment?

20. What are the ingredients that make a contented home?

21. Can you have contentment without love?

22. Have you gotten much contentment from a hobby?

23. What’s the biggest obstacle to contentment in marriages? How might this block be overcome

24. Is our contentment more dependent on other people than ourselves?

25. Can you tell us about a person who seemed content in spite of terrible circumstances?

26. Have pets played a vital role in your contentment?

27. Can very ambitious people find contentment?

28. What can you do to nourish your own contentment?

29. How can you develop the habit of being content?

30. Do we tend to grow more content as we grow older?

31. Has music the power to bring us contentment?

32. How important is having a purpose in life to achieving contentment?

33. What nation do you imagine has the highest level of contentment?

34. How important is it for young people to consider going into a career that they think will make them the happiest? Or the wealthiest?

35.In our discussion today, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about contentment that you didn’t already know? If you didn’t learn anything new, perhaps take the time to check out some of the links in the questions.

Quotations

1. “A contented heart is a calm sea in the midst of all storms.” Anonymous

2. “Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” Buddha

3. “To be content doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s to come.” Tony Gaskin

4. “Contentment is the greatest form of wealth.” Acharya Nagarjuna

5. “Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside.” Anonymous

6. “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.” Socrates

7. “Self-esteem is crucial to how much or how little contentment you feel at the end of your life.” – Mark Goulston

8. “Eventually, we reach the point where we start to realize that we are not going to find peace, contentment, happiness, strength, fearlessness – all of the things that in our heart of hearts we wish we had – outside of us.” – Guy Finley

9. “Contentment is never the outcome of fulfillment, of achievement, or of the possession of things; it is not born of action or inaction. It comes with the fullness of what is, not in the alteration of it.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

10. My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is called content, a crown it is that seldom kings enjoy. – William Shakespeare

The End