Content, Part II

I have two boys in braces - we spend a lot of our time in the orthodontist's waiting room.  It's ok because they have good magazines there.  Usually, I think of doctor office waiting room magazines as literary pablum.  I often feel like I've lost a few IQ points after thumbing through a magazine full of random ads and racy stuff and social gossip about people I don't know and more ads.  But the orthodontist has a few magazines I actually like thumbing through.  I look for the oldest copies, because the nice desk ladies let me take them home, and even thank me for helping them keep their magazine racks tidy.

Last time I went, I brought home a small stack of magazines to peruse, and then I shared them with some other ladies.  I did rip out a few recipes to try, and thoughts to try.

I just found one quote that went along with (or likely influenced) my last post on being content.  I wish I knew what magazine it was torn from (I think it might be Oprah's):

Making Joy a Goal may not be the best idea.  According to a study in the journal Emotion, women who place a high premium on happiness tend to be more depressed, perhaps because they feel disappointed with their failure to meet their high standards.

Under that quote was this one:

A Rigorous Review in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine showed that for depressed people, finding contentment may be as simple as doing nice things: "Positive activity interventions" - such as performing acts of kindness, counting one's blessings, and writing letters of gratitude - reversed apathy, stimulated the brains' pleasure circuits, and restored happiness.

I just wanted to give credit where it was due, and am comforted in thinking that there are others in the world who might have similar thoughts.  Today, I am feeling pretty content.