The Land of Discontent

            The Land of Discontent

Eileen Renders

   Many of us have witnessed the emotions of a young child who begins to cry, seemingly without reason. We often realize they have become overtired, bored, and needing stimulation. As adults, we too, usually feel the sting of discontentedness, and cannot put our finger on the reason for this emotion. Possibly we are bored and seeking purpose in our lives.

   When we are sick, we seek medical attention, if we are missing family, we visit. We understand being overworked, or hungry and address our needs.

   The feeling of discontent, however, simply does not point to a reasonable cause, therefore we cannot immediately address our feelings quickly, or easily. This emotion causes us to further examine our reason for being discontent. Have we lost the joy in everyday living, have we lost the excitement of tomorrow, or could we find that we are not being challenged enough?

The reasons for discontent are many, and we strive to get to the root of our negative feelings to be able to correct them.

   It is not our family, our spouse, nor our children that has triggered our feelings of emptiness and without finding the cause of our feelings, and therefore, unable to fix what has gone awry, we are even more lost.

   Life requires us to have meaning and purpose that extends beyond ourselves and our home. Often feel that sense of belonging. When we work to be of service to God, He fills us with peace and joy. We can find exhilaration in sensing we have discovered the path to more than a sense of purpose in life, but also the path to heaven. We find ourselves working to share this discovery with others, to build upon the peace and joy that we have found, and to remain in service for Christ.    

   What then is the best remedy for healing one’s innermost downward feelings of discontent? What is most often found to remedy these feelings (just as is the situation with children) is to get up, and get busy doing something positive for others who may be unable to do for themselves. It can take a bit of giving at times before we begin to realize what we have reaped through our giving to others. This is a transformation as it takes the focus off of ourselves, and it provides us with a positive feeling that comes with giving and helping others. It enhances our sense of worth as we feel of value. And last but not least, we move closer to our Creator knowing that we are living more inline with His teachings.