Contentment

 I tried resurrecting my blog last week, but today I'm realizing I did it on the wrong blog platform, so here we are again! The photo I'm posting has nothing to do with my starting back, but it does sort of reflect how I've been doing the past few years since moving to Georgia. Comfortable, but lazy. 

There's noting inherently wrong with what I've been doing (or not doing) but there hasn't been much noteworthy, either. I've just been lounging my way through life. A lot of that has to do with where I'm at mentally. 

Two years ago, I had a major mental health crisis shortly after we moved. No need to go into the details, except to say that I'm now on some pretty strong meds that do their job of keeping me on the right side of the grass, but they've dulled my spark. I go to bed at 7 and would easily sleep more than 12 hours, I find it hard to leave the house, and during the day it sometimes feels like I'm sleepwalking. 

Before moving, I was able to find a job, sell a house, buy a house, move my mom down with us (so managing two separate moving vans), and start a new job, all within a little more than a month. Okay, so that should have been a sign of either extreme motivation or mental illness, but hey, it all shook out.

I'm not thrilled with my lack of energy, but wanting to be alive is pretty friggin' nice. So is living with my supportive spouse, my mama, and a truckload of animals. So, while I can't say I'm completely happy with where things are at right now, I can say I'm content. 

From my perspective, contentment is preferable. Happiness can be fleeting. Happiness is a bolt of lightening on a cloudless day -- it gets your attention, but it's gone the second you see it. Contentment is longer lasting. It's built brick by brick. It's firm. It's sustainable. 

That doesn't mean that I have given up on happiness; it's just not my daily goal. Being a decent human being that left the world a little better each day by encouraging others, loving dogs, or doing something for my job that contributes to the betterment of society, that's worth striving for. Most days I feel like I've moved the needle in the right direction. That's all any of us can really hope for. I wish you all contentment.