Sometimes I think about all of things I wish I had and the things I wish I could do. I wish I could travel, visit Japan or Italy or Alaska or Scotland. I wish I could read every book ever written. As Trent Reznor said in a song, "I want to know everything; I want to be everywhere." But I can't be. Instead of endlessly reaching for some happiness through unattainable desires, I can look for what I have right here, right now.
Contentment can be found in what we have right now. It won't be found in more stuff. Sometimes we get caught up in striving for more. More money, more success, more friends. This focus on the future and of what is coming next can easily tear us away from the present and leave us wanting more. This endless desire to succeed and gain never satisfies us. As soon as we gain one thing, we need another. Where does it end?
Instead of searching endlessly for happiness in future goals and possessions, we can instead find contentment with what we have right now. Contentment is more sustainable than happiness.
Lao Tzu wisely said: "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."