On Contentment

Be mindful of what you read. I often feel dissatisfied with my own life when I read glossy magazines, ‘show-off’ blogs and peruse luxury brand websites.

And it’s not their fault, the magazines are just trying to make money by showing glamorous people and promoting purchasing, as are luxury websites.

When I choose to read mostly that which aligns with my values and the direction in which I want to steer my life I feel so happy and content that I can’t imagine wanting more.

What inspires and motivates us is different for everyone, but for me I find that words rather than pictures give me a sense of what I can do. I enjoy beautiful visuals, but they often leave me thinking ‘I’m not that thin so the outfit won’t look like that’ or ‘we don’t live in a home with antique wooden doors and a picturesque set of French doors leading to the balcony’. Beautiful to look at, not so good for being content.

Words on the other hand, conjure up ideas in my head. And then when those ideas come to fruition, whether it’s a makeup style, outfit or way to arrange the living room, I’m not comparing it to someone else’s perfectly styled ideal.

For many years, since I first started clicking onto the internet I’ve collected snippets which have been pasted into various word documents. Sometimes it might be a whole article, maybe a paragraph or even a single sentence. Out of everything I have to read when at home (many favourite books and magazines), I think these printed-out ‘personalised books’ (housed in clearfiles) are my number one.

When I read them, I am reminded of my happiness with a simple life.