“Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.”

I woke up this Sunday morning in good ole' State College, Pennsylvania, where I walked outside to a gorgeous winter morning, the sun bright, the wind at a minimum, and the quietness of a college town still asleep. My friend Jules took me to her favorite coffee shop, where I was forced to try the most delicious Chai Latte I have ever had.

As I sat there at this little round-top coffee table, across from one of my best friends, that unfortunately I don't get to see very often ( at least to our standards), sipping on my delicious latte, looking out the window, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming since of contentment.

Contentment has been somewhat of a stranger to me lately, with all the wanting that is going on in my life, the want to find a job, to figure out where I am going to be come May, to figure out where my parents are going to be, to just feel that sense of security. Yet on this Sunday morning, here it was, resonating with me like an old friend, and it kept popping up throughout the day. Again I felt it as a I sat with three of my best friends, laughing, and reminiscing about the night before, and then again as a I laid on Jules bed, just listening to some Adele, and Ben Folds.

As I sat there realizing what a blessing it is to feel contentment, to feel completely at peace where you are at the moment, I started to wonder why  I didn't feel like this more often? What I realized was that nothing had really changed, those wants that I had were still there, I hadn't in my dreams miraculously landed my dream job, with the perfect salary, in the perfect place, where all my friend lived within a 30-minute drive. Instead though I become content with what I had, I became thankful for the time with my friends. Instead of looking at how crazy life is going to be after college, I started to be grateful for how blessed I am while in college, how amazing it is to be able to live in the same town as most of your friends, or at least a short drive away, to have complete freedom to do exactly what you want to do, and the only thing asked of you? to learn. How amazing is that?

Anyway I guess my point is exactly what the quote says contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. And boy do I have a lot....

xoxo

Heather