The Art of Contentment
Having enough
by Claire Law
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To consider how we can find contentment in life.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (The Art of Contentment) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘World’s largest sneaker collection – Guinness World Records’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 3.29 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/vzkiN2vxmjM
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Welcome the students to the assembly.
Ask the students, ‘How many pairs of trainers do you own?’
Most people here are likely to own at least one or two pairs, but can anyone beat that? Does anyone want to admit to owning more than four pairs?
Pause to allow time for the students to raise their hands.
Does anyone own more than seven pairs?
Pause to allow time for the students to raise their hands.
How about more than ten pairs?
Pause to allow time for the students to raise their hands.
- Well, I’m sure that no one here could compete with Jordy Geller’s trainer collection.
Show Slide 2. - Jordy holds the world record for the largest collection of trainers: 2,388 pairs.
Let’s watch this short video to find out more.
Show the YouTube video ‘World’s largest sneaker collection – Guinness World Records’. (It is 3.29 minutes long, but you only need to show up to 1 minute.) - Interestingly, after Jordy had achieved the world record, he began selling on most of his collection, and spoke of it being time to move on. It’s not clear what prompted Jordy to stop collecting. Perhaps he had reached his goal. Perhaps he wanted a different focus in life. Either way, it seems that he’d had enough of collecting trainers.
- In our assembly today, we’re going to think about what ‘enough’ looks like for us. I’m talking about knowing that we are content with what we have, that we have sufficient, that we are satisfied. The word for this state is contentment.
Show Slide 3 and read out the definition.
Contentment denotes a sense of satisfaction that does not include a striving for more. - Throughout the ages, philosophers and religious thinkers have pondered the question of how we can find contentment.
- Show Slide 4.
The Ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, recognized this when he said, ‘He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.’
In other words, recognizing what we have and being grateful for it is a feature of contentment. - Show Slide 5.
The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, spoke about how important it is for us to feel content. He said, ‘Health is the most precious gain and contentment, the greatest wealth.’ In other words, being satisfied with what we have is crucial. - Show Slide 6.
The Bible also speaks of being grateful for, and content with, the simple things in life. In 1 Timothy 6.8, we read, ‘If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.’ This is a reminder to appreciate the basic things that we have in life. Many people of differing faiths begin a meal by taking a moment to appreciate the food that they are about to eat or saying a prayer of thanks. - So, how do we nurture contentment? How can we feel more at ease in body and mind with what we have in this moment?
Various things can help us to achieve contentment in our lives. Let’s look at three ideas. - Contentment is linked to our basic needs being met. It is hard to imagine people in war-torn areas of the world, or people living in poverty, feeling content. To feel content, our basic needs for food, shelter, security and community must be met.
If you know someone whose basic needs are not being met, please seek help or support by speaking to a teacher or another trusted adult. Alternatively, where a lack of contentment is not so close to home, many people decide to support charities or pray for those whose basic human needs are not being met. - After our needs have been met, we can take time regularly to reflect upon what we have. This is sometimes called developing an attitude of gratitude. A regular act of reflection can strengthen our sense of satisfaction and contentment. Many religious traditions encourage thanksgiving in prayer, that is, using prayer to be thankful for what we have.
- Finally, asking ourselves what would feel like enough for us to be satisfied might be helpful. We can use this question in various settings and contexts.
- How much money is enough for us?
- How much revision will we need to complete today to feel satisfied that we have done enough?
- How much time spent gaming will be enough for us?
If we can ask ourselves these questions, we set some limits to our goals. These can help us to identify when we have achieved enough to allow ourselves to be satisfied and content.
Time for reflection
Let’s take a moment to reflect upon what we’ve considered today.
We’ve defined contentment as a state of ease in body and mind that is linked to being grateful for what we have in this moment.
So, let’s pause and reflect upon what we have in our lives, and consider whether we experience any gratitude or satisfaction about these things.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Let’s pause to think about the homes that we live in, places to sleep and feel warm, safe and secure. Let’s consider what we are content with about our accommodation and what we can be grateful for.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Now let’s reflect upon the food that we have. Food should give us energy and provide nutrients; it should taste good and is often shared with others. Let’s consider what we are content with about our food and what we can be grateful for.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Finally, let’s reflect upon the people we have in our lives: family, friends, teachers, support workers and mentors. How do they help us? Who are the key people in our lives and what can we be grateful for?
Pause to allow time for thought.
Prayer
Rather than saying lots of words, we are going to consider silently what we want to say thank you for today. Let’s bow our heads and maintain a respectful silence while we think about people in the world who lack the basic needs of food, water, shelter and safety.
Pause to allow time for thought.
