There is no end to the things and opportunities we can add to our lives. There is no end to good things. But if we aren't careful these many good things crowd out the best things in our lives and choke them out. For instance, outside events may crowd out sacred, family time together. Too many things keep us too busy taking care of those things, and crowd out contentment. Too many activities can crowd out personal, rejuvenating quiet time for our souls. For the last 20 years roughly, there has been an explosion of information, opportunities, connections, ideas, products, gadgets, things, in the name of comfort, ease, convenience and progress. As we add these things, we feel like we are progressing. And progress is not bad. For instance the convenience of online shopping can simplify and save time. (I love amazon prime-theoretically that is, after I've researched 14 similar items and read 492 reviews.) But does our pursuit of good things choke out the essential? Do our opportunities crowd out our connections to self, others and God?
Our current culture also shows that the relentless pursuit of more of everything and perhaps the accompanying illusion of progress is parallel with a rise in stress and anxiety. And many of us keep going for more, more, and more. More of everything. In this quarantine space of slowing down, I'm discovering less is more. We are cleaning out spaces in our cupboards and on our calendars and our souls during these weeks of quarantine. We are taking out the aggressive lambs ear and making space for the mums of conversation, connection and introspection. And with that I am experiencing a feeling and value, rarely applauded and somewhat foreign to our culture called contentment. Contentment is the peace and prize of knowing priorities are in place and what is enough. It is the work that no one can do for another. Only we ourselves, can call out and subtract what is crowding out the things we value most.
Herein is the tension of the competing values of progress vs contentment -the challenge described by Richard A. Swenson, MD as "We have the honor of living in the most interesting time in the past 2000 years. It is an emotional challenge, an intellectual feast and a spiritual privilege." One of the opportunities in this pandemic is to slow down and meet the challenge of finding the prize and price of contentment in a culture of abundance and progress. It is the challenge of what to let grow and what to cut back. In the face of all that is available, contentment may yet find its way to be the new prize of the 21st century, as it was centuries ago.
My crown is in my heart, not on my head,
Nor decked with diamonds and Indian stones.
Nor to be seen: my crown is called content:
A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.
- Shakespeare
