“Contentment is not the fulfillment of what we want, but the appreciation for what we have.”
Just as I drifted off to sleep last night, the word “FULL” popped into my mind, and I heard (yes, heard) the message that “FULL” needed to be the theme for my blog this Thanksgiving week (to all of my readers outside the U.S., please indulge today’s focus on this very American holiday!).
A quick blog it will be – as well as a bit of a departure from my usual writing topics – as I’m heading off to spend a significant amount of time in my kitchen preparing for the Thanksgiving festivities. . .lucky me!
So here goes.
FULL is what I wish for your refrigerator, your gas tank, your home during the holidays (and beyond,) your heart.
And here’s why.
FULL = bounty. BOUNTY = sharing. SHARING = caring (for yourself and others.)
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A FULL refrigerator is not something everyone has, and something we often take for granted.
- A refrigerator FULL of food provides the means to nourish yourself, your friends and family, and anyone else you happen to welcome into your home. A FULL refrigerator offers choice, variety, a feeling of contentment.
A FULL gas tank is not something everyone has, and something we often take for granted.
- A gas tank FULL of gasoline means FREEDOM. You can go wherever you want, whenever you want; and when you run low on gasoline, you can drive yourself off to get more. You can drive to the gym, the grocery store (to make your refrigerator FULL), the in-laws, a friend’s house, the park, a vacation, a party. Or, you can let the car sit and go NOWHERE, content in the knowledge that you can if you want to.
A FULL home is not something everyone has, and something we often take for granted.
- A home FULL of love, peace, joy, contentment and gratitude offers a respite from a world that can be cruel and harsh. While we can’t completely avoid that cruelty and harshness, having a safe place to land at the end of the day, a place where WE’RE in charge of what we allow into our mind, our psyche, our soul, is critical to our well-being. And if your home is FULL of family and good friends during the holidays and beyond, so much the better.
A FULL heart is not something everyone has, and something we often take for granted.
- A heart FULL of all the things that make you feel grounded, content and centered (see the list above) supports living from a place of gratitude. Sure, there are days when our heart may feel empty of all the good stuff – yet we are in charge of refilling it. FULL hearts are the drivers of good things – and we can all use more of THAT.
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That’s it.
What’s all this have to do with wellness, health, breast cancer risk reduction, and all the other topics I generally write about?
It’s all connected, my friends.
“Self-care” is at the root of all the work I do, and if you’re feeling empty in any area of your life, you may not feel like practicing “self-care.”
And that’s when things start to slip.
And that feeling of contentment (did you notice a pattern with that word?!)?
It takes off too, leaving you struggling to figure out exactly what it is you need more of to feel better, when typically it’s something you need LESS OF (junky food, alcohol, self-medication, screen-time, sedentary-ness) in order to make room for the stuff that truly helps.
My goal for you this week? Work to FILL UP the areas of your life that need a little tending. . .it will serve you well as you move into the full-blown holiday season.
Wishing you joy.
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