The greatest culprit of discontentment is our chronic urge of comparing ourselves and our material possessions with that of others and trying to match up with them. If my neighbour has a 65” Ultra High Definition LED television, I must have a similar television. If my neighbour dumps his old car and goes in for a bigger car, I must follow suit by dumping my old car and getting a new car that is bigger than the one that he is going to get.
We perpetually create and chase status symbols. We want to own everything that our neighbours, friends and relatives own. We make a prestige issue out of it.
We are on an eternal rat-race for one-upmanship with our neighbours; with our friends; and, our relatives—in fact, with everyone! The net result of this unquenchable thirst for more is discontentment. And, this kind of discontentment usually leads to depression.
Once we jump into the fray, there is no end to it. We want everything. We want the best of everything. And, we want it fast. But we tend to forget that we have limited financial resources. So, we borrow money from banks; from our relatives; from friends; and, from here and there to keep our chin up in this world.
Ultimately, we end up with a life burdened by an unending stream of debts. We are in such a tearing hurry to get things that we hardly ever stop to think that we have to return all the money that we borrow at some point in time. Not just the money we borrow but also the interest that accrues on it.
When India attained her independence the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, said something that is worth remembering. He said: there is enough in this country to feed all our needs… but, not our greed. That sums up the secret of contentment.
Now, if we are greedy…if we want everything we see,…there can be no contentment. Contentment will continue to evade us so long as we harbour greed in our minds. If we choose to look up to people who are more privileged and try to match up to them, we will always be discontented. If we look at people who are in the same boat as we are in, we would be more content.
The secret of contentment lies not in looking at people who are more privileged but in looking at people who are less privileged than us and comparing our lives with theirs. We would immediately realize how privileged and blessed we are. That would bring enormous relief to us.
If we look up to people who are more privileged than us, we would be reminded of what we do not have. That is sure to trigger discontentment in us. But, if we look at people who are less privileged than us, we will soon realize how better off we are. That will pave the way for our contentment and save us from joining the eternal rat-race for one-upmanship.
I cannot think of a better quote to drive home my point than this quote from the Holy Bible. It says: I complained to God that I had no shoes…and, then, I saw a man who had no feet!
That, if you ask me, is the secret of contentment!
