15/06/2024
Being happy with your lot, or content with what you have is often used as an insult to others, a backhanded way of telling someone that is unhappy that they are ungrateful and hence undeserving of life and love. I'm sure at some stage we have all had a variation of this thrown at us. I have only really grasped the true meaning of this from listening to lectures from philosophers, gurus, and spiritual teachers, and the like. To me it's that if you cannot find happiness in the present moment and you are looking for an external source for this, like a new house, car, better job, higher salary- when that time comes you will enjoy it only briefly. You will eventually live your whole life unhappy because rather than living, you are constantly searching, grasping, hoping for a better deal. This is the context I give to this picture of an abandoned house on a Fife estate. There was no war or natural disaster, but a beautifully built house with ornate stonework that the intended owner simply didn't like and left to ruin. I'd probably understand if they found God, renounced their riches, and lived in a cave or a tin hut, but I seriously doubt that was the case. Still, the photo turned out ok!