One of the virtues to live by in yogic living is Santosha
(Contentment). It falls very much in line with a simple or minimalist
lifestyle. There are times when our desires get the best of us - when
they call to us when we see an item in a store or in a magazine that we
like. Sometimes, that desires stays with us until we obtain the item or
leaves us unsatisfied if we don't. Santosha also applies to the desire
for people. We pine over people or want them to be ours, when in fact,
no one belongs to another person. The people in our lives and the time
that they give us are gifts. We must appreciate not only what we have,
but also what people give in terms of themselves and their time, and not
demand more.
I think that we, myself, at least, become
discontented and crave things and people because we see something
innately wrong with ourselves. We feel we need others or things to
validate our self worth. However, it is quite a myth. My father, who
achieved a lot in his mere 32 years, such as meeting the president of my
country and being the youngest school principal in the country, told my
mother something that she relayed to us later. He said, "someone can
take away all your possessions, but they cannot take away your education
or knowledge." He did not mean education in an egotistical matter, but
meant that we should try to develop our inner qualities. He liked nice
things and had his clothing custom made, but easily gave away his shirts
and shoes to the poor, and even walked home barefoot and shirtless at
times. I never got a chance to meet my father as I was only one when he
passed away, but his wisdom relayed in my mother's words about
treasuring the truly invaluable things came back to me recently.
We
can leave this world at anytime.
Perhaps, we should spend a little more
time appreciating the blessings of each day and not desiring material
things beyond what we need. In reality, there is little that we actually
need. If cavemen propelled our civilization with just the few things
that they had, so can we. We have all that we need within us and are not
lacking or incomplete in worth. We just need to remember to focus on
building our inner virtues and Santosha becomes easier.
This is something I am mediatating on today as I do my de-cluttering.
No comments:
Post a Comment