Being Discontent


I am not sure what kind of situations give birth to the feelings of being discontent, but I suspect there are more than just a couple situations. Some are deep rooted in the desire to change the direction your life is taking and some reasons are just as simple as looking at a magazine and seeing a room decorated in a way that is appealing. Feeling discontent can arise from visiting the store, seeing a car you like, a hair style, small things. Seeing things we want different from what we have can be a fleeting feeling or something that grows and mutates into full blown discontentment with your entire life.

This week I was looking at another blog and saw the blog owners newly decorated house. I loved it. It was just what I had been wishing my own house looked like. Clean look, bright, the Ikea look. I felt more and more discontent as the days passed when I went into my own living room. I moved the furniture around as if that might help. Then to make matters worse, Melanie and a friend went to Ikea yesterday, coming home with excitement and full of ideas for their own changes in their houses. I actually felt a bit cheated that I had not gotten to go and see all the things I really wanted.
We are inundated with things to want, commercials on TV, stores, magazines, catalogs, and yes even blogs. We see bodies better than our own, plastic surgery to give us that look we want. Clothes that promise to make us look like " a million". Shoes that promise to give us legs that look longer and sexy. Hair color and shampoos that will make our hair shine like the silk. Cars that will make us look successful and furniture that will give us homes like in a magazine.
Normally the things we have in our home are pleasing to me. The house is comfy, people like to visit and say its so homey and lovely, but this week I want to just dump it all and redecorate the entire house. Whats brought on this discontentment ? Simple really, I want change, only what I really want is a change in what my own personal direction is, not the house, not the way the furniture looks.... its just that those things, the externals, those are pretty easy to change in comparison to changing habits that are holding me back. What am I talking about ? My own weight. My slipping in working out, the things I want to have in control, but don't and they simply are not easy to change. I don't even like to look at them honestly. I want to be 134 lbs, a healthy weight for me. I want to run, and run fast. Neither are my present reality.
Its not this way for everyone, this reason for wanting to change furniture or reason to shop or redecorate, but for me right now, this is the root of it all. Buying new furniture or curtains would ease my discontentment for a while, but it would not take care of the root of the issue for me. I would soon be wanting to cut my hair, buy some new clothes or something else, hoping to push down the feeling that things need to change within me.
This journey of self discovery is not always a fun walk. Sometimes the view is almost too clear, showing me the hard path is the one I need to take.

Comments

Kathy said…
Oh my gosh Patty, you will never know how I can identify with this post. Sometimes I am afraid I have spent half of my life being discontent instead of trying to find contentment within my life. Thanks so much for sharing.
Jan said…
Take a deep breathe. Take deep breathe.
Amy said…
Patty, you're right about "stuff-itis" never bringing true contentment, but it's also true that having a few things we want rather than need can also perk up our moods a bit. Have you ever considered picking up a part-time job outside the home just to earn a bit of money for spending, now that the kids are grown? Maybe that would also give you something to focus on so that you're not brooding. I loved my time off after we moved and I was jobless, but it sure is nice to have that focus again now. I'm noticeably less depressed. Just a thought. Forgive me if I've overstepped my boundaries.
nancyr said…
I just spent a week, vacationing, with my thin daughters, and came home with a conviction to loose weight and get in shape.
I have not started exercising, but I have lost two pounds, and I am trying to stay motivated.
I wish I lived near you, so we could walk and get in shape together!
Hang that new sun dress where you can see it every day, and tell yourself that by August, you will be wearing it!
Grancy
Patty said…
Oh my, sorry Amy if I came across depressed, it isn't that, its just feeling time for a change, discontent with how my house looks in comparison to what I have seen recently. A part time job ? NO WAY, I love things the way they are and no need for more money, we actually are quite comfortable. Certainly more money now than when we had kids at home. I have way too much to than to work. If I had a job, we would just eat out more, just have more stuff and stuff never makes real happiness.
Patty said…
The sun dress is hanging up on my bedroom door, looking so cute, and I am here eating some fruit, saying to myself, "I know I can, I know I can."

Taking a deep breath and heading off to Ikea with Hubby tomorrow to look for a crib for Mei-Ling for when she stays with Grammie. I get my Ikea fix but still remain focused on the real reason for feeling discontent, my own weight and lack of exercising
Gina said…
I can understand completely. I often feel this way when I want to change me -- it feels easier to start with something else, a room, a piece of furniture. In some way, there is a connection. There is energy in things, and we do process it. You have a very lovely house. It's simplicity speaks to me and inspires me. I'm so far from achieving that sort of simplicity, but it is something I greatly admire.

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