Contentment Window

Last night, during “window sitting”, there was only the sound of a single cricket without the background chorus of fellow crickets. He was singing all by himself – content to sing his song.

There was the delightful smell of moisture, of wet earth, after the rain earlier in the evening: grass, leaves, vegetation from the neighbor’s garden. They were all content too, to just be what they are…. (Don’t ask me how I knew this :)

I felt the cool night air wafting through the window – which always inspires me. And I felt gratitude for friends arise for some reason, along with a myriad thoughts, feelings and awareness of body sensations and discomforts. Then I began to settle, and there was the usual awareness of the breath, then a deep breath, and deeper settling into that innate sense of the womb of Stillness that is content…

Suddenly the realization came that I am comfortable with myself! Oh my, can this be?! I felt somewhat shocked, to the point where I shifted in my seat and became acutely aware of this strange feeling that filled this space of “me.”

It was an awesome feeling to be at peace with myself. I never remember feeling “content” in my life. But here it was – contentment sitting at the window – saying welcome – here I am – just feel my presence.

And it was understood, in that moment, that “I” is always content – the Essential “I” – even if the sense of “me” isn’t. Contentment is a natural state of Being. It was also understood, sitting in the window, that contentment is not based on the absence of thoughts and feelings, or life going well, of having or not having. It’s a contentment of Being - just Be-ing – as the River of Stillness runs through – untroubled, untouched – leaving the face of contentment shining through…

~*~

Can you see the face in the cloud?