Content: Peaceful Happiness
The other day, someone asked me what I had been up to. In the last 6 months or more I’ve actually been busier than EVER. Travel, work, social life, you name it.. I had gotten used to my response to that question being exciting, “just got home from ____ and now doing/planning ____. “ or “I’ve been SO busy, but good!” I was going to bed late, nailing out projects, getting things done, feeling a rush, but not content.
The definition of “content” is “[to be] in a state of peaceful happiness”. It’s also a word often used to describe what’s posted on social media, you know, “social media/Instagram content”, it usually consists of highlights. Sometimes I’ll look up a friend on Instagram to see, “what they’ve been up to.” How funny that the very substance of the adjective, “content” consists of being at PEACE and NOT striiiiiving, (I think the word striving deserves more “i”s) for an exciting answer to someone’s question about their life lately — jumping from square to square or high to high.
Often times I get tired of people expecting to hear some exciting new thing when really, thriving in marriage, being wise with money, and having relationship with our creator is already an overflow of opportunity to be content in every single day.
I’ve been content. I’ve been feasting on rest and moving forward one day at a time. I hadn’t even noticed my quiet, daily dedication of sticking to a routine of washing my mind in meditating on God’s promises to me, walking, reading and reviewing my dreams and goals taking small, daily steps toward them — and getting 7-8 hrs of sleep — was resulting in me ultimately thriving in a state of peaceful happiness. I know it sounds like a lot, but I had a routine before: sleeping in until the last second, jumping up to get ready, running late, constantly chasing the day instead of directing it myself — it wasn’t working for me.
WHO KNEEEEW the tortoise won the race for a reason. Having a routine keeps me moving forward — actually in strides, while not feeling exhausted and wiped out. In nearly every success book ever written, they say the secret to success is all about doing something small every day that moves you towards your dreams and goals. Repetition and dedication won’t breed disfunction, they will bring results. This consistency in my life has untied my hands to achieve more and do it restfully and peacefully in every area of my life. If you don’t know where to start with a routine, Terri Savelle Foy’s book “5 Things Successful People Do Before 8am” is a good book to read. Don’t let the title scare you, after reading it, you can figure out what you need or want to stretch yourself to do. If you want accountability, my friend, Tori and I got your back, send me a DM on Instagram. We need each other for real.
You have a routine whether you realize it or not, I hate to sound cheesy but, is it nudging you toward peaceful happiness?
I’ve got little pictures to show for it, but I’ve been content, and that’s hard to take a picture of, but I think this expression is a reflection of my heart and represents it well.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read, what started as a Sunday afternoon thought turned into a novel (oops) from a topic I care deeply about and that has apparently been stirring in me for quite some time.
Love you, no — I really do.
Jules