Personal Growth Planet Blog

I don’t know about you, but I don’t get too fired up when I think about the word “contentment.” It brings to my mind stereotypical retired folks rocking on their porches or maybe watching great grand kids playing in the yard.

The first images that come to me when I think about “contentment” are actually rather boring. Peaceful, yes. Also, pretty dull.

So many of us long for peace in our busy, hectic, triggering and stressful lives. I am certainly among those who yearn for experiences that are easy, satisfying and even-keeled. Unfortunately, though, when there is no drama and life is sailing along relatively smoothly, it can start to feel mundane and dull. It is in those moments that “contentment” seems unbearable and even restrictive.

I think of myself as a pretty positive kind of person.  I make it a point to focus on what, to me, is going “right” in a situation.

If the cake I bake falls, I remind myself that it still tastes good. If I have to spend an afternoon with someone who usually annoys me, I try to find something about the visit that I can genuinely appreciate.

(Okay, I’ll admit it. This is an intention and not always the way it plays out.)

Swirls of color on a canvas. Voices and dance on stage. Handmade crafts of paper, cloth or found objects.

All of this will come together tomorrow in a Columbus, Ohio art show called KidzArtz that I have had the privilege of helping to organize with some Mother Artists at Work friends.

The creativity and imaginative spark that have gone into each craft, visual art piece and performance are amazing…all the more so because every artist is under the age of 18.

There is nothing quite so precious in both a child and an adult than the ability to imagine.

You can ask my kids– I really don’t like clutter. I get all squirrely and irritable when the piles of books, papers, electronics, toys or whatever get too high and are spread too widely throughout the house.

I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s not just their stuff that adds to the feeling I get of being stuffed in to a space with too many things out and about.

When I reach my clutter breaking point, I generally huff around a bit barking out calls for tidiness and picking up after ourselves.