Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Secret to Being Content

Click on the photo to see 
my 87 year old dad,
in Times Square, New York
Yesterday I returned from a 1,750 mile road trip that spanned five states and took us across to the east coast of the USA. Accompanying us as we traveled was my 87 year old father, who enjoyed every minute of this busy adventure. On our travels we experienced two extremes of American life. One day we spent our time in the Amish city of Lancaster, where my dad loved the beauty of the calm, unhurried, peaceful lifestyle. Two days later we were flying in a yellow taxi cab through the crazy streets of New York, where my dad loved all the noise and excitement, the hustle and bustle of the big city. My dad has the amazing capacity to enjoy life wherever he is and to see the best in everything- whether it be a place, a person, or a situaton. It is his secret to being content. Of all the many lessons that he has taught me, this has to be one of the finest- to deliberately see the best in everything, to focus on the positives and choose to appreciate life wherever we are. If we can do that in our ministry, we might just find the secret to being content.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Philippians 4:12
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2 comments:

  1. daniel nellistJuly 13, 2011 at 3:29 AM

    This post reminds me of Epictetus. He was born into slavery and at some point in his life he was granted his freedom. He devoted the rest of his life to philosophy. He was concerned with being content regardless of the situation you find yourself in. His teachings were recorded by a student in the same ancient greek as the new testament... He said: "Don't hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace."

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  2. Glenys NellistJuly 13, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    That's so interesting Daniel! Thanks for sharing :)

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