Contentment

I had a meaningful conver-sation with Rizal, my friend from primary school last evening. Rizal's back for the summer holidays from doctorate studies in Sydney and we met up at Nasi Lemak Mak Lang in Forum 19, a venture of another two of our primary schoolmates Zamri and Khairul. Arthur and Shahurain joined us later but as we were the early birds, we had a chance to catch up in person rather than on Facebook.

Our conversation naturally revolved around the happenings in our lives, his in Sydney while pursuing a doctorate in international law, mine in KL. One thing we definitely agree on is contentment, to be content with our lot in life. There are certainly ups and downs in life. The former we celebrate, the latter we learn to deal with. The happy occasions, the sense of fulfilment when an aspiration is achieved, we must appreciate and not take for granted. The challenges, pressures and stress that we come face to face with, well, we just have to tackle them head on. Chin up, best foot forward and hopefully we conquer these little annoyances that appear every now and then. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger and the sense of relief that accompanies the resolution of a problem reinforces the inner strength we all can summon if we want to. It builds character.

Ever so often, we envy others and others envy us. Suffice to say, the grass is always greener on the other side. To be really happy, one has to be contented. Take pleasure in one's circumstances. Acknowledge the good that we have in our lives. Be satisfied yes but always be on the lookout for betterment. To climb higher mountains, to experience new encounters. My friend Rizal would agree I'd think.

Photo of a beautiful sight that caught my eye.