I subscribe to Zen Habits,a blog dealing with “living in the moment” and being content with, and productive in, one’s life. Recently, a post reminded me that people tend to define themselves by what they do, what other people think of them, and/or what they have in their lives. The post suggested, though, that one’s contentment can be shattered by one’s own poor performance or job loss…by others’ disapproval…by losing possessions or having friends move away.
The solution, for the writer (Leo Babauta) is to define himself as “love and compassion.” He offers examples of how it works; if he sees someone doing something more creative or more groundbreaking than something he has been doing, he blocks the discontent with himself, or the jealousy, by reminding himself that he is “love and compassion.” The discontent disappears.
Maybe I can try that. Maybe you can try it.
