#contentment

[amatullaaaah]

Treat hardships like guests. You have to treat them well whether you like them or not. They don't remain in your home forever, they visit and then leave.

إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ

Verily, Allah is with the patient

[sluggoonthestreet]

Carina has finally found an apartment with both northern light and westerly tailwinds.

[al-firdaus]

Allah swt created us in such a way that our hearts crave for the Creator and nothing can give us that contentment, that satisfaction except for having a connection with Allah swt.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Journalist: "What do you think is your greatest achievement?" David Bowie: "Marrying my wife." "But as a musician?" "Nothing else matters."

[Classic Throwback]

[catsofyore]

Milk drunk, ca. 1895 — 1908. Source.

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

[adventuresofalgy]

As he flew around his assistants' garden. Algy realised that he was exceedingly tired. His Hogmanay Hootenanny had been one of the most wonderful parties he had ever held, but it had certainly drained much of his energy, and he felt that he needed a good wee rest before embarking on any new adventures.

The weather birds had been wrong again, and instead of staying dry for a change, it had rained all night. Not that Algy was surprised… It usually rained in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, after all, but it meant that everything was soggy, drenched and uninviting, especially as the temperatures was only a wee bit above freezing. It was hardly conducive to a restorative rest…

Algy hopped about here, there and everywhere, looking in vain for a cosy couch suited to a weary fluffy bird, until eventually he spotted a small clump of bright green cypress in a dark corner.

This seemed to offer a perfect bed, and when Algy lay back on the gentle, springy branches with their soft, fragrant needles, he felt a sense of deep contentment, for they were not even particularly wet. Here was a perfect place for repose!

Hail, sweet Contentment, calm Repose! The balm of comfort shed, Oh! let me not complain of woes, By thy kind guidance led! To thee Compassion is allied, Revengeful hope unknown; As thou a stranger art to Pride, From thee is Discord flown. Tho' plain and humble be my lot, Yet grant me strength of mind; So shall I find, tho' in a Cot, Pleasures the most refin'd. With pity shall behold the great, While no rude cares molest; Nor fond desire for useless state, Disturb my tranquil breast. In silent glen, in hollow cave, And Hermit's lonely cell, Where winding streams delight to lave, Reflection deigns to dwell. Far from the bustling scenes of Life, I wish in peace to rest; Remov'd from vanity and strife, In calm retirement blest. To me in gorgon terrors clad, Appear the rash and bold; The vain, the wealthy, and the bad, Who thirst for nought but gold. With horror such delights behold, As deck the festive scene; Tho' young, am prematurely old, Collected, grave, serene. To thee, Contentment, thus I bend, With meek and humble heart; In pity to my pray'r attend, And lend thy soothing art!

[Algy is thinking of the poem Ode to Contentment by the English 18th/early 19th century children's educational writer and poet Ann Murry.]

[sheafrotherdon]

Of all the luxuries it is possible to seek in the world, Nicky is greedy for contentment. He finds it in a dozen different places, scattered piecemeal, hour by hour. The trick, he discovered two centuries into his improbable life, is simply to look for it, to notice the sweet, quiet stillness inside his chest that means he is full. Like now, an hour into wakefulness while Joe still sleeps beside him, their bedroom filled with fragile morning light; like this, he thinks, stretching a hand up toward the ceiling as if he might walk his fingers along the meandering lines of cracked and ancient paint.

He is warm, and Joe feels warmer still beside him, curled toward him, his breath puffing softly against Nicky’s bare arm. He is not yet hungry; there is a glass of water on the bedside table, and Nicky is grateful to so easily be able to quench his thirst. The blankets on the bed are heavy; the flat is quiet; it’s too early yet for the traffic that passes on the street below to have become a constant hum. Beside him, Joe grumbles and turns on to his back, sighs and sleeps on, his mouth slightly open. Nicky smiles when Joe begins to snore.

The walls are pale blue; the door is wooden and stands ajar. There’s a chest of drawers against the wall that’s seen better days, on which sit dishes and bowls that Nicky can’t see but knows hold a watch, silver rings, a door key, a single stick of gum. The armchair that sits in a corner is green and the springs in the cushion are old and cranky, and Nicky can barely see the upholstery for the jeans and shirts and one stray sock piled there. If he lifts his head, if he rolls to the side, he'd see his own boots on the floor. But he doesn’t move; he thinks instead of the twist of fate or luck or destiny that put Joe in his bed, in his heart, in the deepest marrow of his bones, and only then does he turns to lie on his side and press his nose to Joe’s shoulder. He doesn’t speak. He is happy and still.

[futuretherapoo]

I just wanna be the pretty girl who works part-time at the flower shop. It's a life goal. It's a dream. It's everything.

[andallshallbewell]

[quietlotus]

“Yes, there is a Nirvanah; it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture, and in putting your child to sleep, and in writing the last line of your poem.”

— Khalil Gibran

[thewordfortheday]

For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Philippians 4:1-12

Paul penned these words from prison. And a few verses before that he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

Contentment comes when we rejoice in the Lord. Think about your life right now. Can you appreciate what you have instead grumbling about what you don’t have? What you have in Christ is far greater than anything you don’t have in life. You have Jesus.

Paul is confident that His God is enough. He ends the chapter, (verse 19) by affirming,

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." Therefore, you have everything you need for now and eternity. And Jesus has you. That makes all the difference in the world. Would you quit looking at others and look to Jesus? Do you realise how blessed you are to have Him in your life?

[bvrakah]

«little provision»

Shaykh Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله said:

"Whoever is content with Allāh upon a little provision, Allāh will be pleased with his little actions."

Ar-Rida 'Anillah Biqada'ih by Al-Imām Ibn Abid-Dunyā | 1/50

[mother-lee]

photo

[myteaplace]

Contentment, 1927, Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)