"Account Ye No Man Happy..."

I've been thinking lately about the difference between contentment and happiness.

We constantly get all these messages about how to lead happy lives, ten more ways to find happiness, happiness in twelve easy steps. In our culture, we seem to be so obsessed with "peak experiences." Is it any surprise that our quest for happiness often falls short and we find ourselves full of disappointment because we aren't happy every minute of the day?

It is impossible to be happy every minute. Life happens, throws us curve balls, gets us off track. We get so focused on goals and expectations that we forget to be flexible, setting ourselves up for further disappointment. What's a girl to do?

What if we worked instead on being content? What if we worked on being content with who we are, where we are, where we're going? What if, instead of always focusing on the prize at the end of the stick, we instead focused on letting this moment be enough? What if we allowed ourselves to be enough, just once?

I'm not sure yet what it means to be "content," but I'm working on figuring that out. Thoughts, friends? Where are you on your happiness quest? Tell me about your experiences with expectations and how you handle life when it doesn't go according to your plan.

on the iPod: Against the Wind, Bob Seeger