After having the task and the privilege of house-sitting for my parents at their farm last week, I have come to the conclusion that I could move back there and be quite happy doing so at some point in the future. That isn’t to say that the situation will arise where there is either the need or the opportunity to do so. But it is an important takeaway for me that, should I need to be there to help out my parents or to keep the farm in the family, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so.
That thought comes with full knowledge that such a major change in life would not be easy in some major ways:
- It wouldn’t be easy to leave friends and family in Louisville.
- It wouldn’t be easy to go from living in places like Kansas City and Louisville back to a small town such as Winchester.
- It wouldn’t be easy leaving the church we have loved and served for nearly a quarter of a century.
- Depending on when it happened, it might not be easy to change where I work.
But it could be done if needed, and I would be content doing so.
The lesson for me is one of contentment. It felt good doing something as simple as feeding the horse and cows. It felt good going around the farm making sure all was well. It felt good being in the middle of where significant memories were created starting from the time I was in sixth grade.
Happiness should not be dependent on one’s external circumstances. It needs to come from within and be more along the lines of contentment than some unsustainable, giddy happiness. The thought of moving back to the farm isn’t one of needing to do so in order to be happy, but being willing to do so because I am already content and can be so in any circumstance. There is a big difference.
Leap year lesson #131 is Contentment is satisfying.
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