Bob Dylan in his typically insightful way writes in one of his songs of his search for a woman with “a satisfied mind.” Not a happy mind, not a beautiful body but a “satisfied mind.” He understands how difficult it is for people, men and women, to be SATISFIED.
Why is true satisfaction so rare and difficult to achieve? Despite material success, living comfortably and relatively “securely” in one one of the richest and safest parts of the world, people are rarely satisfied-always wanting MORE, more wealth, more possessions, something other than what they already have. Surrounded by love and plenty they often seek another relationship, new love, new romance.
We live in a culture where the basic premise of life is that we need something else and need to be other than who we are. This is the essence of the accumulation culture we live in. Even if one is fortunate to be a relatively healthy person, free from crippling anxiety, depression and low self-esteem, unless one also is keenly conscious of the cultural influences and pressures that are designed to create chronic dissatisfaction, one can never be content. A conscious rejection of a value system that indoctrinates chronic discontent is essential to be content. The very idea that there is a better life to be lived must be questioned. Often the real solution is in taking what already exists and adding to it-enhancing the intimacy of existing relationships, developing gratitude for what is already present in our lives, increasing our capacity to notice and appreciate the existing beauty in and around.