What lies beyond your knowledge

Are you happy? Or, do you pursue happiness? If you pursue happiness, you have not caught it. Yes, you could argue that you are happy, and by pursuing other things that you believe will make you happier, you might get more. However, there is a flaw in that argument. Happiness does not fit within a unit of measure. You cannot say that you have a quart of happiness now, and that it will be worth your willingness to work extra hard, deny yourself and your family, plus wait a long time in order to have a gallon of happiness. Don't confuse happiness with the acquisition of possessions.
There is a strong link between happiness and contentment, but the two are different. One practices yoga in order to be fit, and content. One stops to smell the roses in order to appreciate them, and to be content. One listens to calming music in order to relax, and to be content. How do we bridge contentment to happiness? I will give you an example in my life today.
I have a family that includes two children, but they are not children now. My son and my daughter are young adults who no longer live at my home. I was blessed by them, and I loved them so. I still do, but the time for me to play with them, to teach them, and to protect them has passed. I have to seek contentment about this, because I did not want it to pass. My lack of contentment strayed into unhappiness.
My role as a parent now is to be the life saver, to offer my home when it is needed, advice when it is wanted, and help (labor or money) as appropriate. I am not supposed to buy everything for them, solve their problems before they know they have a problem, or steal from them the purity of their discovery of life as it comes to them. Even writing about this is hard from me to do.
So, I seek contentment. I understand now why my father ended every telephone conversation with the words "can I help you?" I understand my own wisdom, by never saying yes to the question. If I said yes, I admitted failure as an adult. To say yes, was to be in dire need of help, and that did not happen to me. But, now, I see my father's side of it. I must be content with myself, believe that I did a good job as a father, know that I will be there if my young people are in dire need. And, I can share what happiness of theirs that they decide that I can have. I only know what I know today. I do not know what lies beyond that knowledge. But, I will strive to be content, and hope that it will be something good.
"Paige," https://www.amazon.com/Paige-Tony-Grayson-ebook/dp/B00Q78V4P4?ie=UTF8& *Version*=1&*entries*=0
Tony is a writer, an author of several published novels, and an independent publisher. In September 2012, he wrote and published the first of a three-book drama series, "A Voice from New Mill Creek: The Methodists," as an e-book. In April, 2013, he released his second e-book and first romance novel, "Goodnight Paige." In July, 2013, Tony released a guidebook titled "How Tony Wrote and Published Two Novels." In May 2014, he published "The Star of India, "the second novel in the Voice From New Mill Creek drama series.