Contentment — A Bewildering Word for 2023

There is a small town named Hope that has little commercial activity but is kept alive by an elementary school, a library, a post office, and a fire department.

There is one small but visible business sign that hangs out on Main Street — that of a hairdresser. She is good at what she does, at least that is what a couple of women clients have told me. Her daughter works side by side, offering an extra service for long eyelashes. Also, the salon offers the remarkable ability to turn frizzy hair into straight hair.

The small talk that takes place during hair cutting and coloring, etc., reveals that this 41-year-old hairdresser has never driven more than an hour or so from this small town to neighboring states — a feat she has undertaken twice.

She married the boy she dated when she was 15-years-old and gave birth to two daughters. She cannot imagine living without her husband or being apart from her daughters.

Her’s is a small world. But, it is a world of contentment.

Ahh! Contentment. An interesting word.

It has been my practice at the beginning of each new year to choose one word that focuses on an aspect of living that is thoughtful and productive and prods me towards self improvement.

The words came easily in the recent past. Grace in 2021. Intentionality in 2022. (Loved that word, intentionality.)