But The Cheese Was Missing

So, if the idea is to abide in contentment, what do you do when things happen that are… disappointing?

Recently, I went through the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. I ordered a cheeseburger. Leaving the window, purchase safely situated on the passenger seat, I negotiated my way through the snow and ice back into traffic.

At the first red light, I discovered… There was no cheese on my sandwich. A wave of disappointment flooded over me. My thoughts that there should be cheese that wasn't there left me feeling unhappy.

Yes. The events did not result in my being happy.

Yet… 

Of late, I have been discussing something I am calling a joyful approach to life. I have argued that, better than being happy is being at peace and having joy as a result of how what we do aligns with our purposes for life.

But, the cheese was missing! I wanted that cheese, and it wasn't there! I was unhappy.

However, that did NOT take away what peace I had; peace that resulted from my thinking I had, throughout the day, acted in ways that aligned with what I understand to be my life purpose.

A single… shall we say it was a sad moment? One incident in a day. Or ten. Or a whole avalanche of incidents that leave us disappointed should not take away from that peace. Our contentment should come, not in what happens to us, but rather in what happens by us, in knowing that we lived in accordance to our calling.

Stop for a minute and think about it. Is one or even two missing slices of cheese that important? If so, then, perhaps it is time to evaluate what you are living for.