I reclined on my balcony last night, sipping champagne in the company of a lovely lass, with my dog lying on top of me and the crickets/frogs/whatnots competing with the strains of Berlioz. I’d made some progress that day/week with a variety of things and could relax without stressing about other things I had set myself to do. Peace. Contentment. Nice and warm too!*
It’s easy to be happy if you have the time to notice/enjoy all that good stuff out there. But the greatest satisfaction comes from doing, or having done, something to make it even better. I was particularly content yesterday because I have made the effort to seek out an environment that suits me and was continuing that process. Compare and contrast wth my first year in Taiwan where nothing went right and I couldn’t just relax and enjoy all the things that were there to be enjoyed. I was too busy arguing about money or fighting to get free time. All the trees and stuff were still there, but I wasn’t able to enjoy them. That’s what I mean by ‘free’ stuff not being free, and that’s why I appreciate it and don’t take frogs for granted.
Despite being relatively pleased with what I have I can still see room for improvement. I could be less lazy, for instance. I could organise my living arrangements so that I didn’t have to deal with quite so much cleaning. The river would be that bit more enjoyable if there wasn’t an old scooter dumped in it. **
But whilst I can see ways in which my life can be improved that doesn’t stop me appreciating what I have. I guess it comes down to semantics. What does ‘satisfied’ really mean? How about ‘content’? And what is the relationship between happy, content, and satisfied?
Personally, I think it’s good to have a life that you can be happy with, and to always remind yourself to be thankful for it. But satisfaction means - in my book - the feeling that everything is perfect. And I think that’s unattainable. After all, despite all the good things in 914’s life, he’s still out there campaigning for change on issues that he finds important.
Perhaps some people think that the wider environment is not part of ‘your life’, but I disagree. I see myself as being a part of every problem and every solution. I can’t be satisfied with ‘my’ life if I’m not satisfied with some aspect of the world in general, because they’re connected and it’s up to me to make change, not just wait for someone else to do it. (I would be more satisfied if I had more energy and enthusiasm for doing the right thing all the time.)
And now, just for Miltownkid, an anecdote about satisfaction and money:
[i]I had the pleasure to have lunch with a candidate for the European Parliamentary elections some time ago who was representing the Natural Law Party. The Natural Law Party had been formed a short while before to contest EVERY election at every level throughout Europe, from local council up to national and supra-national government. It was the brainchild of The Maharishi Yogi, who presumably felt that something needed to be done about the state of the world and his solution was to enter politics with a single policy to deal with all the world’s problems: meditation and love. One of his advisors protested, saying “This is going to be tremendously expensive. Where is all the money going to come from?”
His reply: “From wherever the money is now.” [/i] 
(The ‘cool’ emoticon was me, btw. I don’t imagine that the Maharishi Yogi wears sunglasses, not Oakleys anyway.
I try to remind myself of that story regularly. To desire change is good. To be that change is better. Your ability to effect change is often determined by the way you perceive your financial situation. So I am rich enough to make the world a better place, and I don’t think it’s right for me to just say “I’m all right Jack and can’t spare the time/money to improve the wider situation. I’m satisfied with MY life and that’s all that matters.” Your life is my life, as is the life of every oppressed person worldwide. So is the life of every member of every species that has gone extinct this year because no-one cared enough to save them.
The world’s a mess. I’m not satisfied. But I’m not strong/committed/advanced enough to do what I should, just like most other people.
- I love the heat. Can’t wait for the summer to start properly.
** Actually, someone has just gone to the trouble of pulling it out. Other people do care, and are not as lazy as I. I’m really glad that someone else was dis-satisfied enough to do something.
