Contentment.............

"A state of happiness, of satisfaction"......so important but sometimes hard to attain......however I have really figured out a way to attain it in my day to day.....and I was thinking of it yesterday......it was such a lovely first day of vacation......we explored the resort in the morning......then headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, the food was so good.....then spent the afternoon by the pool, a few drinks, then ending with eating all together.....and being content is one of the most important things we can work toward in this life.......and it comes to us really when we drop our expectations and accept and live in what is happening, the now......the power of the now.....I have goals up ahead and things I have yet to have in this new life that I desire, but mostly I am truly happy with the new life, I have created and feel content in most of my days.....I have some challenges in my life that require things of me that make me uncomfortable, but ultimately when I focus on the blessings those challenges don't seem so challenging somehow......I went for that massage recently and she commented on my lack of tension in my body and my energy feeling open.....it was kinda a big deal......because for YEARS.....my shoulders were like cement.....literally carrying the world on my shoulders endlessly.....so much so, that at one point I needed to get injections in my neck to break up the spasms.....crazy right? Just so plagued in my body with the lack of contentment......lack of peace.......heaviness......and my body suffered the price.....stress is a killer no doubt, and finding ways to combat it and be mindful of it has been important to me now......and now I sorta know what I need to keep in my life, in my day to day, to keep the road of contentment well paved and there for me to cruise on......I want to impart that to my children too.....early in their lives......helping them be content in the small day to day......not being focused or preoccupied with what is ahead......just staying in the moment.....the day......the place they are in and appreciating it for what it is......today we are headed on an early hike to the Smokey Mountains to beat the crowds....I am excited.....my love of hiking is deep these days, and to have the opportunity to go someplace new, and someplace so picturesque is a treat indeed......my sister in law Stacey has hiked here a couple of times so she is leading the way on the plans of the day and I am grateful for her expertise, and for her planning in what the day holds! I think hiking with my kids has been a way for me to share some of the contentment I have found with them.....it is easier to be present, and to marvel in the present, when you are looking at the beauty of nature.....when you are in it.....something about just being there helps to slow it all down.....helps you not get too far ahead of yourself.......so in thinking of contentment and what it means in the early morning hours of today.....I am reminded that my goals and dreams are important, each and every one of them, but so is my goal to spend each and every day soaking up its gifts, remaining present, and being content right where I am! I hope you are too:)