#contentment

When service is unto people, the bones can grow weary, the frustration deep. Because, agrees Dorothy Sayers, "whenever man is made the center of things, he becomes the storm-center of trouble. The moment you think of serving people, you begin to have a notion that other people owe you something for your pains...You will begin to bargain for reward, to angle for applause... When the eyes of the heart focus on God, and the hands on always washing the feet of Jesus alone - the bones, they sing joy and the work returns to it's purest state: eucharisteo. The work becomes worship, a liturgy of thankfulness. "The work we do is only our love for Jesus in action" writes Mother Theresa. "If we pray the work...if we do it to Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, if we do it with Jesus... that's what makes us content." Deep joy is always in the touching of Christ - in whatever skin He comes to us in. Page 194 ↗

— Ann Voskamp

#service #attitude

Whatever worldly thing we may covet - zealously striving to obtain and then retain - never seems to bring an end to our desires. Covetousness, envy, jealousy, and greed always escalate into a vicious spiral, as we seek greater and greater gratification but find less and less contentment. . . . Striving to acquire the things of the world not only does not bring lasting happiness and peace, but it drives us to seek more. When "all we've ever wanted" is grounded in the temporal trappings of this world, it is never enough! ↗

— Brent Top

#coveting #envy #greed #happiness #jealousy

The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people. ↗

— Elizabeth Gilbert

#happiness #life #life

Ma Solitude Pour avoir si souvent dormi Avec ma solitude Je m'en suis fait presqu'une amie Une douce habitude Ell' ne me quitte pas d'un pas Fidèle comme une ombre Elle m'a suivi çà et là Aux quatre coins du monde Non, je ne suis jamais seul Avec ma solitude Quand elle est au creux de mon lit Elle prend toute la place Et nous passons de longues nuits Tous les deux face à face Je ne sais pas vraiment jusqu'où Ira cette complice Faudra-t-il que j'y prenne goût Ou que je réagisse? Non, je ne suis jamais seul Avec ma solitude Par elle, j'ai autant appris Que j'ai versé de larmes Si parfois je la répudie Jamais elle ne désarme Et si je préfère l'amour D'une autre courtisane Elle sera à mon dernier jour Ma dernière compagne Non, je ne suis jamais seul Avec ma solitude ↗

— Georges Moustaki

#loneliness #peace #solitude #men

This happiness consisted of nothing else but the harmony of the few things around me with my own existence, a feeling of contentment and well-being that needed no changes and no intensification. ↗

— Herman Hesse

#changes #consisted #contentment #else #existence

It is our work to cast care, and it is God's work to take care. ↗

— Thomas Watson

#contentment #art

Being content with what you have already is an art form that leads to a peace that can’t be replaced by anything else. ↗

— Elizabeth Gilbert

#happiness #peace #spirit #wisdom #art

Americans were convinced in their own minds that they were very miserable, and those who think so are so. There is nothing so easy as to persuade people that they are badly governed. Take happy and comfortable people and talk to them with the art of the evil one, and they can soon be made discontented with their government, their rulers, with everything around them, and even with themselves. ↗

— Thomas Hutchinson

#rebellion #art

That very breath wherewith they utter their complaints is a blessing and a fundamental one too for if God would withdraw that they were incapable of whatsoever else either have or desire. ↗

— Richard Allestree

#god #gratitude #art

No one's happy here, you know that. But I am content, and maybe that's enough for me. ↗

— Melissa de la Cruz

#contentment #happiness #hell #lost-in-time #melissa-de-la-cruz