“There is nothing more rebellious than contentment”

Debbie Wacks

One of the greatest aha moments in my path to Yoga was to be introduced to the Yamas and Niyamas, the rules of social behaviors and the rules of personal behavior; how we behave when in group and how we behave when nobody is watching us. Santosha the second of the Niyamas means Contentment.
I have learned contentment from my mother. There is an intrinsic smile on her face, and an intrinsic presence that feels smooth and warm, inviting. On my exploration I found two basic principles that support contentment: Simplicity and Acceptance. The more simple the better; the more that we accept the less friction, which is crucial for our lives. As we engage in action it is inevitable that friction will happen. Action creates reaction, as we know through the third law of Newton. Action is the active force that initiates something and reaction is the passive force that resists it.
Now there is a third component called neutral force that basically balances the two former forces in order for something new to be created. This is a clear process in Psychology, The desire (active), the fear (passive) and the third, the Neutral force, that helps desire to overcome fear assisting both active and passive while connecting. In Theology we can find Faith (active), Hope (passive) and Charity (neutral), in Geometry the Triangle, in Religion The trinity, in Ayurveda the Three Gunas with the active force of Rajas and the passive force of Tamas which are balanced by Satwa. Also in the brain’s evolution there are the Reptilian, the Limbic and the Neocortex layers that working together drove human’s evolution.
Now imagine your life in complete, unconditional acceptance. Imaging yourself accepting everything that is coming without remorse. The more I explore my mind the more I find that every time I feel hesitant is because my ego, my I-former, was somehow trespassed. Every time that I find myself complaining about something is because my ego is not satisfied.
Acceptance is a pillar of our growing evolution as without it, nothing can be modified. As without it we get stuck in the descending path of fear and grievance. If we accept who we are with our own shadows and lights, then it will be easy to create a better version of ourselves. If we accept what is coming with contentment then instead of problems we will see opportunities.

Now finally there is this critical unconscious mandate in our society that promotes discontentment as a creative force. In our product driven corporate system the delivered message translates as “Nothing is enough”. The message in our school system becomes “Go for it” regardless of what it could take to go for it. Our media daily encourages discontentment about our image and bodies that becomes an expected conversation among teenagers.
Contentment is rebellious and I choose to be content. I choose to be content with the colors of this universe, I chose to be content with the opportunity to breath and share with my kids and the people I love this journey. I chose to be content to stare at the ocean and connect with that Prana, I chose to surrender through a reflective and alert mind.
There is nothing more rebellious than contentment and I chose then to be content.
Viva la Vida!!!!

Diego Gesualdi