There is much we have, and yet the mind loves dwelling on all the things we don’t have in life. We start becoming so aware of what is lacking, that we not only stop appreciating, but sometimes even forget all that is in place in our lives. Before we know it, life becomes a race trying to reach a finish line which keeps getting pushed further as we approach it. Focussing on what we don’t have breeds emotions that take away our joy.

It breeds discontent. Our sense of happiness gets linked to getting, rather than being grateful for what is very much in place. It doesn’t mean that we should not have goals to work towards, but losing contentment is losing the essence of our peace of mind, the very thing we hope to achieve through our pursuits.

When we focus on what we don’t have, we may not realise it, but traces of jealousy may enter our thinking when we see others having something we want. We may not grudge others their good fortune, but we start living with a subtle grudge that we don’t have something.

We allow regret to take root when we keep thinking of what we don’t have. The mind keeps going back to missed opportunities and wrong decisions, not only leading to periodic agitations, but compromising our vital here and now which is the only real thing we have.

We pick up the wrong end of the stick when we keep reminding ourselves of what we don’t have. We start believing life to be unfair. Our mind gets so clouded, that we compromise our ability to be objective and understand life the way it is.

So does this mean we should not be ambitious and gain for ourselves the things we don’t have? That would be a grave mistake to live without a purpose. By all means we need to aspire for a better life for ourselves, and put many basic things in place. But the journey of our aspiration needs to be without discontent, jealousy, regret, and grudges.

Contentment does not kill aspiration. It puts us in a secure state of mind that even as we work towards something, we are mindfully secure within. And we realise that in life we get what we deserve, not what we desire. And if we truly feel we deserve something we don’t have, then the answer lies in inspiring ourselves in a spirit of self-application, focussing on what we need to do, rather than agitating about what we don’t have in life.

(Picture- Backwater of the Godavari near Nasik)