Contentment is a state of mind that has nothing to do with money, objects, or other people. Nor does it concern itself with how much we have, or how little. Instead, it’s about finding a point of stillness within ourselves which allows us to be quietly happy whatever our situation might be, and to be at peace with who we are.

How do we experience contentment? It can be as easy – and yet as radical – as taking a breath in, and deciding to release everything that makes us feel anxious and dissatisfied as we breathe out. Try settling deeply and quietly in a traffic jam, in the middle of an argument, or when tears are close. Let the commotion of the world simply come to rest. Is it possible to taste the experience of surrender and release?

Unless we learn to live in the moment, and to accept it as it is, we may never function well or feel fully alive. Contentment releases us from the restless desires that drive us blindly forward, and which prevent us from being open to the needs and gifts of others. It frees us up to direct our energy in fresh and more conscious ways. Can we discover how to enjoy contentment despite the hurry and worry of our contemporary existence?

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have."

• Unknown

"Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor."

• Benjamin Franklin

"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not for anyone's greed."

• Mahatma Gandhi

"Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty."

• Socrates

"There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment."

• Swami Sivananda