Santosha (Contentment)

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.