Contentment

​To me there are few things sadder than someone who for a long time beavers away at something - that may have great benefit for others, but who remains discontent and disconnected from benefits.
I do not mean one who invents a cure for some disease but fails to benefit from it because they do not have the disease.  I mean one who remains discontent while contributing to the contentment of others.  Or one who resents what they do but remains doing it out of a sense of necessity (feeding the family).  Absent is than desire built on a belief that this is what I was born to do.
Contentment to me is not about more but about enough.  I may have a little of something or a lot of something, but as long as it is enough of something, I am content.  Some imagine that if some is good then more must be better.  I personally would dispute that.  I have seen those who have enough convert it to more and come acroper as a result.
Studies have been done to determine what is considered enough for a person.  Monetary figures were supplied but I leave them as they reflect the time and may not reflect now.  What was found was that when what was considered enough was reached, the gaining of more saw the contentment graph remain the same and in some instances dip.
The point for me is the belief that more must be better is a mistaken belief.  It is not a harmless mistaken belief but one when pursued often leads to heartache and discontent.  Contentment to me does not equate to high status.  But where I am, and what I do, is regarded highly.
So often the most content are those doing the lowliest tasks.  It does not need to be that way but it seems to me the higher one climbs, often the more precarious the position.  If one is content in a position whether high or low, then they seem to be more likely to endure.   Whereas those fulfilling a role more out of “have to” than “want to” are more likely to abandon their post at the first sign of trouble, rather than learn from trouble and grow.
That is easy for me to say, and so far so good.  A foundation is laid to handle both a trickle and a flood.