Today I thought about discontent, having what we want/have worked for, doing enough, and gratitude. I hear, “I should not be sad/angry/overwhelmed, after all, look at my healthy family/nice home/promising career.” But we are distressed. There is something more we need to consider.
We have been lured to want what is not good for us; more things, more money, more enriching activities – at the expense of simple, loving, supportive community. So once we get what we think we want, we are still by ourselves (as an individual or a family), and that is not enough. We then talk ourselves into being grateful and that helps for a while, but really, we need accompaniment through the dailiness that is life, even when everything is going along basically fine. We need to be helping each other as a habit, not waiting for the big opportunities, like fire, a new baby, natural disaster. I expect folks who observe the Sabbath have a handle on how to do this, at least once a week.
As a country we are suffering from acute loneliness, and it is driving many folks literally crazy.