People dream. Some people dream of fame. Take the Beatles. Just as the face of Helen of Troy is said to have launched a thousand ships, the Beatles launched as many bands, especially their premier on the Ed Sullivan Show. Some of these bands and artists are household names: The Mamas and Papas, Kiss, the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Heart, the Pixies, Bruce Springsteen and many, many more. But fame ultimately does not satisfy and it comes at the cost of peace and privacy.
Some people dream of fortune, striking it rich by winning the lottery, trips to casinos, day trading, and so on. But a person who is consumed by the hunger for riches often sacrifices his relationships with his family and friends as he is driven harder and harder by greed. As the eighteenth century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer “Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become. . .”
Still others are motivated by the need for prestige and the admiration of other people around him. Not content with their accomplishments, they drive themselves ever harder and the effort it takes to maintain their facade is exhausting. Then there is the thirst for power and control, family feuds, hostile takeovers, ethnic cleansing, the thirst for Lebensraum, conflicts among nations, and so forth. What’s more, our culture rewards these behaviors and we’re taught to respect and admire the wealthy or accomplished among us, often exempting them from the same responsibilities of cotizenship that are expected and required of us. Such behavior is part of Daniel Eleazar’s political culture taxonomy and it is also an underpinning to another construct, this one laid down by Herbert Spencer called Social Darwinism.
Some twelve to fifteen years ago there was a famous song that climed the charts overnight, performed by some Irishmen belonging to a group called Snow Patrol. The name of the song was “Chasing Cars.” “The phrase ‘Chasing Cars‘ came from Gary (Lightbody’s) father, referring to a girl Gary was infatuated with: ‘You’re like a dog chasing a car. You’ll never catch it and you just wouldn’t know what to do with it if you did'” his father told him.
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
– Socrates (469-399 B.C.)
Where God fits in
All of this conflict was not programmed into the cosmos when God created it, but rather, it is the consequence of sin as humanity’s path became corrupted and blurred. When we became sinful, God knew what we were capable of even if we did not. He gave us instructions on how to live our lives in peace and harmony (i.e., contentment.) with warnings about what might happen if we did not, because our actions have consequences. God did this because He loved us. We call these rules the “Ten Commandments” and a few of them deal with our most destructive impulse (envy, theft, murder and adultery.) Few of us can turn these temptations down and the devil knows which buttons to push to get us going. But One man did overcome–Jesus. In Matthew 4:1-11 the devil tries different strategies to get Jesus to fail. Satan’s third and last attempt was showing Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (4:8). Certainly this vision dealt with everything the world and our culture and society has to offer. But Jesus wasn’t interested. Because He persevered, and died on the cross on our behalf before rising from the grave, we have hope of eternal life in Heaven, ourselves. This is the Easter message.
“Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become…”
Arthur Schopenhauer
The secrets to a contented life
You may likely have heard of Lifehacks. They have all sorts of useful strategies when dealing with the storms of life. I’d like to share a few of their “Secrets to a [Contented] Life” Top Ten list with my own personal commentary.
- Share the power of community. If you’re fortunate enough to life in a community that understands that “It takes a village…” you will undoubtedly find resources and opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. If not, check online (or start your own group!)
- Be grateful. I saw a movie once where a person in his seventies or eighties said he was grateful for being old. At first, you might think there is nothing wonderful about that. But he explained that because he had lived so long, he had so many more wonderful memories and experiences in his life. There is an old gospel song called “Count Your Many Blessing.” It is a wonderful hymn and guaranteed to perk you up before you reach the last verse.
- Volunteer. The best defense is a good offence. Instead of lying in your room thinking “poor me,” get out and help others. It will give you not only a reward for your efforts, but a sense of perspective as well.
- Let go of expectations. Don’t push yourself. You can only do what you can do. Don’t worry about the expectations of others, and worst of all, your own expectations of yourself. Take weight loss, for example. If you know for a fact that on a daily basis you are burning more calories than you consume, you don’t even need to weigh yourself, because you will lose weight. It’s a mathematical certainty.
- To these examples I’d like to add a lifehack of my own, and that is “look beyond the obstacles.” A karate expert who is about to break a concrete block or board with his fist does not focus on the board, but rather at a point beyond the obstacle. That way, he or she does not voluntarily or involuntarily pause as the hand touches the board, which could cause injury. There are always obstacles in life, but they can often be navigated or mitigated.
Featured photo credit: Flystock (Shutterstock)