Contentment

As the only girl in a nomadic military family of four children, I longed for a big house with gardens full of flowers and a grassy yard where my brothers and I could run and play freely with our pets. My perfect house would have had three stories, and we kids would all have enjoyed our own rooms – not a bunk bed in sight. I’ve never lived in a house like that, but I have found one. I’m completely smitten with a white stone “haus” I pass each time I walk to and from the village of Amberg, Germany, where I’m enjoying time with family. My daughter and I have named it The Petunia House. This dream home is not mine to occupy; however, it is quite obvious it’s well cared for and loved. Although I’ve never met the owners, I admire the time they spend pruning the shrubs and making sure the dozens of multi-colored petunias drape beautifully over the balcony every day. The children laughing and playing in the yard with their small dog might not appreciate their parents’ work as much as I do, but they certainly have a lot of fun. This diligence required to make that house a home brings to mind the Yogic concept of Santosha, translated as contentment; appreciating and taking good care of what you have. In her book, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, A Return to Wholeness, Donna Farhi expands on the definition of Santosha, adding that it is also “an attitude of understanding oneself and one’s environment and circumstances as they are, a spiritual state necessary for optimism and effort to change the future.” Sounds like the perfect description of the stewards of “my” place on Rezerstrasse!