Be Ye Therefore Content

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came from my little brother who was 18 years old at the time. The movie "The Secret" had just come out. I had been studying the concepts taught in "The Secret" for many years, but my little brother sat down and watched the movie and from the first viewing had an intuitive grasp of the law of attraction. From that point on he became my teacher.

One day we were discussing gratitude and contentment and he said, "In order to attract in being content, you have to be content."

Do you see the irony in that statement of truth? As we work on creating a clear vision of where we want to go, it is powerful to be able to look at the way things are and feel on every level that if things never changed, we are content, and we will continue to be content.

And yet there is a concept sometimes referred to as "divine discontent." The divine in us is always seeking to improve our situation, to progress. Neal A. Maxwell said that we "...experience divine discontent because of progression mixed with procrastination."

We can use divine discontent to motivate and propel us forward. We just need to be careful not to allow that divine discontent to morph into ingratitude, which is all too easy to do!

What is the difference then, between divine discontent and ingratitude?

Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "Our minds have a marvelous capacity to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well: The more often we see things around us-even the beautiful and wonderful things-the more they become invisible to us...Because we see things so often, we see them less and less."

Ingratitude then, encompasses not seeing the good that is already in our life. It often includes a sense of entitlement, a feeling of being shortchanged. With ingratitude we usually find ourselves comparing our situation to that of others and we come away with a feeling of envy. Underneath it all is usually a deep feeling of not being enough.

As we look a little more closely at our lack of gratitude, we may also find fear, discouragement, even despair. A feeling of hopelessness and a desperate desire to grasp for things we don't feel we deserve may also accompany these feelings of ingratitude and discontent.

Divine discontent, on the other hand, is a curious mix of peace and desire for movement. There is hope that the changes we desire will come to pass. There is clear vision of how we want things to be, rather than a focus on what we don't want.

Divine discontent is accompanied by a feeling of connection to our creator, a humble belief in, and understanding of our own potential and worth.

We have a feeling of contribution, a desire to improve others lives as well as our own. We often recognize being guided by a purpose higher than our own. This purpose gives us drive and energy, a sharp contrast to the discouragement and hopelessness that stems from ingratitude.

When I first started utilizing the powerful technique of visualization, one of the challenges I encountered was that at the end of each visualization session, I would open my eyes, look around, and see what was different or lacking in my current reality. The immediate response to that was a feeling of disappointment and ingratitude for the way things were.

I recognized that these negative feelings and emotions would not get me where I wanted to go, so I made some changes to the end of my sessions. When I opened my eyes, I would look around, intent on finding things I was grateful for in my current situation.

If I was visualizing a storage room full of food storage, I would focus on the shelves that were already full and rejoice. If I was visualizing new carpet, I would notice the beautiful paint on the walls and how that added to the beauty of my home.

Paul advises Timothy: "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." (1 Timothy 6:8). This can be a guideline to us as we strive to improve our lives. We will always be creating, we will always be progressing. And while we are in this process, we can be content with the way things are, knowing that our choice to be content will only bring us more to be grateful for.