I think Mom has been reaching out to me the last couple days. I keep accidentally stumbling onto memories of her. In the last few days I have found old photos of her, remembered that things in my house (and plants outside) were gifts from her, laughed at the memory of her ferocious opinions about things (all that emotion packed into her tiny Mom body). These things have happened while I wasn’t even thinking about Mom. Then boom, she was right there with me.
Today, a blog post popped up in the sidebar that I probably haven’t read since the day I posted it, in December 2010. She died a year later, December 2011. It’s a message I clearly needed to hear then, and oh my gosh I needed to hear it today. I wish I still had my Wednesday morning calls with her: my ally in absolutely everything.
I’ll reproduce the post without edits below because the way it touched me is important. Thanks, Mom. I needed you today.
NEVER BE CONTENT
I just got off the phone with my mother. Our hour-long Wednesday morning phone calls are practically a given. God love her.
No, really, my mom is awesome. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to keep her happy, but it is so worth it. On this morning’s phone call, for example, she brought to me a perspective that I had not considered, but needed to hear. She said that when her mother taught her never to be content, it was a gift.
A gift!
I have battled, BATTLED, with my inclination not to ever be content. I’ve considered it a curse, not a gift. Never being content has led me through drastically changing career paths, shattering relationship changes, embracing and discarding those I call loved ones and family, moves moves moves through 11 different states for gods sake, poverty and wealth, humiliating recanting of public outcries, mountains of self-doubt…. Of course I could go on. The end result is pain – as change brings a measure of pain in all cases.
Never being content is emotionally devastating with no hope of an end.
And.
It’s also the reason I have traveled, continued my higher education, and raised an incredible child. It’s the reason I have had the opportunity to work through so many relationships, romantic and otherwise. My lack of content inspires my constant searching for knowledge and understanding, and it’s behind my pure love of humanity (tempered mildly by my raging disgust for humanity). My lack of content explains why I am an atheist and why I can’t imagine a world without religion. It explains why I am ravenous for more information about governments and governance while remaining mystified by them.
Without contentment, I am constantly on the lookout for new friends, new jobs, new homes, and new skills. And thus, why I am bombarded with new fabulous information every single extraordinary day of my life.
In fact, not being content turns out to be one of my very favourite things about myself. I LOVE that about me. Go figure. I guess maybe I’ll make peace with that battle, and move on.
Conscious Engagement 
I needed this today too. Thank you!
You are a bright star and an amazing person, whatever it took to make you that way is a good thing. ❤
Thank you!
A lovely photograph and a fine tribute
Thank you Derrick. I send a Happy Mother’s Day to Jackie! ❤
Jackie says “that’s nice”
🙂
❤ So lovely to see you together. You are both happy in the same way. It travels. Also – no matter what you say, I see content too. It must be that you are content with your discontent. It takes you places.
Thank you for saying that, Manja. It helps shape the perspective.
Thankyou for your article my Cousin. The discontentment comes from our Grandmothers! I have always felt that way aswell! But you do get a lot of drive and persistence from it. When I would see your Grandmother and Mom.. we would talk about it. My Dad always thought they never were thankful enough or had gratitude about things. I never felt that way because it gave me a lot of goals in my life. I miss your Mom always. Sending love!
Thank you Anna. Sometimes I do wish I had more contentment, and wasn’t always pushed from inside to do and to be more. But you are right, it gives us a lot of drive, and that is the reason I have done so much in my life, which I am really glad for.