Little Gifts of Sustainable Contentment
One minute daily reflections for cultivating mental, emotional, physical and financial well-being.
by
C.J. Good
Smashwords Edition
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PUBLISHED BY:
C.J. Good on Smashwords
Little Gifts of Sustainable Contentment
Copyright © 2010 by C.J. Good
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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This book is available in print at Amazon.com.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Natalie, Max and Andrew.
None of these words would have been written down without your loving encouragement and support. You are such a gift to me. Thank you.
CHAPTER 1 Emotional Contentment
CHAPTER 2 Financial Contentment
CHAPTER 3 Intellectual Contentment
CHAPTER 5 Occupational Contentment
CHAPTER 6 Physical Contentment
CHAPTER 7 Spiritual Contentment
Introduction
We are all searching for contentment. The contentment we desire exists on many levels: emotional, financial, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and occupational. Sustainable contentment is an array of attitudes, behaviors and wisdom, which when put into practice, creates a state of serenity. This book is an invitation to help you find contentment, by changing your thoughts and beliefs. Everyone wants to live a fulfilling life. We all have objectives, goals and dreams whether business or personal. No matter who you are, you can enhance your capacity for contentment by incorporating the simple ideas in this book.
You can read it from cover to cover or after going through the book once, you may find yourself returning to various parts for study, reflection or practice.
To break through the confines of self-imposed limitations to personal freedom, to be more focused, productive and content in every aspect of life, is the purpose of this book.
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Little Gifts of Sustainable Contentment
chapter 1: Emotional Contentment
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January 1
Like an immovable tree, real love does not interfere or demand. It delights in both worship and sympathy. To have that sweet weakness aiding me, to touch providence with my hand, able to take it into my arms, as the soul is present, is to be caressed. There is no necessity for selfish human perceiving. Every part of the object is delightful and wonderful. Soul gropes for soul, and finds it. Love is looking with care, intense and fascinated. Beholding an object in thought in its absence, to hear it come, go, enjoy all its attributes, without judgments, totally accepting it, is love.
January 2
I use creativity like surfing a wave to capture the forward motion of consciousness. Ideas rise out of the immense void that is responsible for creating form. Creative chanting enlivens me and can be used to neutralize negativity. I make up songs, dance, write and imagine directing an orchestra to generate creative projects.
January 3
Contemplation is similar to sitting beside a mountain stream, becoming the moving water. I read poetry, which resonates in my heart as a complete, delicate, quite perfect thing of beauty.
January 4
Emotions have electron charges, attracting similar atoms that snap and crackle. I experienced this strange sensation while on a pilgrimage to Spain and Turkey. As I traveled across these lands, I went back in time. It was as though I was wearing an invisible freedom cloak, rendered sacred by the warmth of the sun. Stopping to investigate a display at an archeological site, I felt an exalted state of awareness, as if history were connecting me to different realities. I joined the world of impossibility, infinity and immortality. I went beyond thinking, to a place of tranquility.
January 5
My beliefs are like a portal, passionately pouring through the funnel of inspiration and fortune. I focus on strengths. I feel naturally confident and optimistic. I have happy, fulfilling relationships and have the impression that I have all that I need.
January 6
Filled up with the joys of a contemplative life, I have the capacity for peace. Consequently, I know that everything is going to be okay. Peace links to my heart, to myself and to a creator greater than myself. I’m in the genuineness of a moment. Someone out there is a mirror to me. The world is the reflection of my mood, inclined to shift dramatically, depending on moments of joy or despair. When I was broken down by afflictions, I selected the appropriate adjustments. In this process of rejuvenation, I meet the intellect through the heart, through love and grace.
January 7
Today, I close my eyes and go to a meadow on the border of a lake, nestled against a mountain. I walk in a field laced with swaying yellow flowers. The dazzle of color, the soft call of loons and the crashing waterfalls harmonize with my heart, lifting my spirits. I stop to smell the flowers, merging with the lights and shadows around me. I am attuned to the sounds of the universe and enjoy the vibration. I become physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually relaxed.
January 8
I am encased by a swarm of intrinsic, intelligent qualities that carpet my nature like a wheat field. I’ve been passed over with a translucent layer of good and loving truth. Difficulties, despair and disappointments melt from me like a blanket of snow. I persevere. Life is just beginning.
January 9
I am plagued today with incessant worry. Save for this one weakness, this exceedingly repetitive idea about fear of loss, regret or abandonment is nothing but my clumsy, fearful mind. Everybody has it. It demands the expression of patience, prayer and meditation. This is the outlet that will assuage my mind, and in time, inner clarity will return.
January 10
I am relieved from tragic states, from wretched feelings of hopelessness, failure, despair, confrontation with guilt and collapse of defenses. My senses open to the truth of life. Like a pressure release, a power greater than myself grants me all the courage and strength I need.
January 11
I do not fear the whirlwind of chaos. Solar systems are born from chaos.
January 12
Chaos is the raw substance for my transformation. The higher power blasts away self-imposed prison walls with an immense concussion. Shackles of my bondage shatter away. Bursting, flaming fragments rise into the air, then tumble back upon the ground in a smoking pile. Upheaval evaporates into sunshine, and I see a road to change. Everything is for my greater good.
January 13
I had piles and piles of feelings of low self-esteem and inferiority, so I became a workaholic. I was young then and needed outside recognition to make me feel better. That was sufficient to help me get by, but I couldn’t develop enough self-love. I overachieved, but instead of feeling joy and happiness at my accomplishment, I felt numbness. I also felt a kind of relief that I had avoided utter failure. When I finally learned that I cannot find happiness outside of myself, the alleviation of my intense misery was palpable.
January 14
I have built an imaginary refuge in my soul. It is a tropical shack, covered with Tahitian flowers. Here, I meet face to face with a power greater than myself. I cherish our friendship, because I have unshakable faith.
January 15
I notice trouble long before it comes creeping over me in choking black smoke. When little fires of affliction leap and cry, when trouble is trying to get me, when I feel that first rush of blood to the head, signifying I am afraid, I jump out of the way before the hassle materializes. I have a wastebasket for troubles.
January 16
I woke up from who I thought I was. I finally have security and solitude. The old identity has surrendered. I’ve unbolted the door of fear. I’ve taken down the barricades of doubt. I have lighted the candle of hope. Incredible creative forces flow through me in all areas of life. My formidable and startling potential arises from the obscure depths of my subconscious. I detach myself from resistance to life.
January 17
I possess adequate supplies of the following qualities: truth, unity, freedom, peace, gratitude and love. This is the concrete of a solid foundation. I not only enjoy these attributes, I pass them out in a veritable parade of action.
January 18
I project what I am feeling, because that is what drives me in the first place. I ask spirit to look out for me, protect and keep me sane. When I get into the unenviable position of having irrational thoughts and frustration, both social and financial, the person most likely to get hurt is me.
January 19
I stand strong, clear against the sky. I slowly ascend the stairway of life. No emotion is uncomfortable for me. I wake up with clarity. I pick up the phone and call people. Even when I speak, I don’t get tense or wound up. Talking with people will get me out of my own head. Today I have no fear, guilt, remorse or shame. Just as light shows through a human hand, obsessive thinking can shine through me. I avoid engaging in stressful dialog.
January 20
Being incapacitated by fear is no longer my struggle. I let my feelings emerge and dissolve without discrimination. I feel them unreservedly, no matter how briefly uncomfortable. When I arrive on the other side of fear, doors open. I feel invincible strength, and I’m infused with nourishing energy. A tremendous, never-ending rush of vitality circulates through me.
January 21
I was so swollen with conceit and jealousy, I was considered to be a nuisance. Foreboding comes with the territory of overindulgence. Can I tap into a power greater than myself, or would I rather tap into self-centered fear? Honesty is about substance, depth and self-searching.
January 22
I’m planting the seeds of a lasting recovery. I am free from being a compulsive debtor and spender, a gambler, an over-eater, an alcoholic and drug addict. I am receiving multiple streams of healing.