A quicker and more economic way to contentment

Tomm

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Always feeling life's unfair ?
Always feeling discontended ?
Spending thousands of dollars to make yourself happy but the satisfaction
lasted for only an hour or two?

Just look at the picture below for at least 1 minute...

eat-dirt-2.jpg


Then imagine yourself in her shoes (figuratively only, as she doesn't even have shoes).
Tell yourself how lucky you are and let gratitude enter into your soul.

Although not everything is relative in this world, human feelings are --- they work according to how you think. Previously, you were always feeling discontended because you have
set your expectations too high. It needs to be re-adjusted.
 
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~Anastasia~

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I have gone from some years ago being often dissatisfied because I couldn't afford what seemed the basic things everyone around me was spending money on (newer cars, vacations, gadgetry, eating out, buying nice clothes all the time, going to movies, ordering whatever struck them when they wanted it - books, icons, coffeemakers, lol, whatever)

To feeling incredibly blessed every evening when I pray, to the point that I feel I have an embarrassment of riches and asking God for ways to help me bless others (still a little difficult since money is the EASIEST way and I still don't have any extra of that)

By just making it part of my prayers every evening to be thankful for what I do have. I have an incredible wealth of spiritual blessings, such as no generation before us ever had access to for one person - not only the Scriptures, and free access to the Church, but writings through history, translated, contact with Christians all over the world, icons affordably reporoduced, and many more things. I have kindness of others in little things - from opening a door for me to praying for me to giving me a paper icon - to bigger kindnesses - people in our own parish and city and those all over the world. Almost all of my family and friends are seeking God in some sense. My husband and daughter are safe, and close enough by that I get to see them. I have a roof over my head, heat in winter, cooling in summer, enough food, clothing, shoes, furniture - all the necessities. I have a job I can go back to when I am well, and a car to get me there. My medical needs were taken care of. I even have a little cat that sticks by my side, making up little games all the time and sharing much affection! I have lots of plants and flowers, which I enjoy taking care of and watching them grow, and I even have art supplies to indulge my desire to make beautiful things.

Life is amazingly good!


And nothing has essentially changed from some years ago except that I now have major health issues that have kept me out of work since June - so even less money - yet I can't help but feel blessed.



Now, that poor child in the picture, that breaks my heart ... I wish there were a practical way I could share my food with her. I have enough, and more, usually. Heartbreaking. :(
 
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timewerx

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Just look at the picture below for at least 1 minute...

People do this all the time. It's all over facebook, w/e.

It doesn't get into people's heads, well, until they experience it themselves. I almost did that is skipping meals because I literally had nothing to eat. Sleeping in hunger and prison-like conditions.

So it's kinda pointless, people forget so easily and people are cold.
 
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Tomm

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So you feel gratutitude , luck and being blessed after you meditate upon your starving fellow human being ? And might even save a dime or two...

That sounds obscene to be honest.

Is it a sin or immoral to look at the poor to remind yourself you are lucky ?

Of course, I felt sad when I saw her picture. But doesn't mean I should not use the picture
to remind myself how lucky I am!

I see nothing wrong to look at the poor to remind myself how blessed I am. It's not wrong even if you do that without helping the poor. Besides, I do help the poor.

As Timewerx said, such pictures are all over the internet to remind people of how lucky they are, then are they all OBSCENE ???


What you said is useless and on the verge of hypocritical.
Don't be a hypocrite.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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As used when not with sufficient practice or experience in what is true, it can all be misleading and instead of building someone up in YHWH'S WORD can cause them to be more complacent unless
YHWH shows them what to do.

YHWH provides seed for the sower - a most important lesson all through HIS WORD.

If all we have is a glass of water, or need a glass of water,
start with that - and in reality - in truth - in our own neighborhood first. With our neighbors or people YHWH brings to us, or takes us to, close to where we live first.

Some groups I visited have NEVER seen a homeless man or homeless family !
They are so out of touch.... and might remain that way for years, even for decades, unless someone takes them by the hand and leads them to seek the lost and broken in the city they are in.

ON their own, they 'should' seek the lost and poor and homeless and help them;
but perhaps they 'honestly' have no idea how to.
And I think too often the 'agencies' do not fulfill honoring YHWH'S WORD.
If someone is not living self-sacrificing, willingly and joyously out of sheer grace and if they are not embracing Y'SHUA(JESUS)'s LIFE as HE SAYS,
this is a severe prayer need to start. (they usually won't pray this for themselves,
just as Shaul did not know what to pray for; but STEPHEN who prayed for him while being stoned to death knew what to pray!! and HIS PRAYER was ANSWERED ! (thus > Paul the Apostle!)
 
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Maddox

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Martin Tom...think of it like this.

Donald Trump has a picture of you getting to your car and preparing to go to work that he looks upon every morning waking up next to his mistresses.

He thinks how blessed he not to be you. How lucky he is being billionaire.
How great that he can hang around with his lovers in their twenties and abuse his power and authority.

How nice that he can travel with limousines and private planes driven by others while fooling around in back seat with enjoyable company drinking champagne.

Then realize that the relative wealth gap between that starving child and you is proportionally greater than the one between you and Donald Trump.

Should this kind of behavior not be seeing as something obscene, something that separates you from the others and from the fact that all humans are brothers and sisters and how can we truly be happy and content when we know our brothers and sisters are starving.
 
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Tomm

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Martin Tom...think of it like this.

Donald Trump has a picture of you getting to your car and preparing to go to work that he looks upon every morning waking up next to his mistresses.

He thinks how blessed he not to be you. How lucky he is being billionaire.
How great that he can hang around with his lovers in their twenties and abuse his power and authority.

How nice that he can travel with limousines and private planes driven by others while fooling around in back seat with enjoyable company drinking champagne.

Then realize that the relative wealth gap between that starving child and you is proportionally greater than the one between you and Donald Trump.

Should this kind of behavior not be seeing as something obscene, something that separates you from the others and from the fact that all humans are brothers and sisters and how can we truly be happy and content when we know our brothers and sisters are starving.

There are hypocrites in this forum.

We shouldn't be happy if others are suffering, theoretically.
But there really are some people who are always feeling life's unfair and discontended.
I thought showing them the above picture would teach them to be contended, that's all my intention.
I am not building my own happiness upon others' sufferings.

Moreover, I do help the poor.
 
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MWood

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Helping the poor is fine.

The idea that observing suffering makes anyone content is obscene whatever your motivations.
It appears that the picture that was posted has brought to the surface your guilt of self worth and self indulgence causing your anger to flare. May the Holy Spirit work in your soul and give you love and compassion for your fellow man. I pray to God in the name of Jesus. Amen.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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The higher up in government or religion in the world , the more hyporcrites there are and the more money they take and don't use for the poor. That's been so often throughout history it's not even considered a sin ! It's so common, and called "good business model" or "great successful charity" (only because they rake in so much money - nothing at all to consider if they actually help anyone or not) !
They have robbed trillions of dollars in the last 40 years on the basis of "helping" someone, all lies. So people who see what's happening and people who do not see what's happening are all hurt by it. Many souls are lost on earth.
 
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