To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Yes, there is a Nirvanah; it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture, and in putting your child to sleep, and in writing the last line of your poem.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Learn to be pleased with everything; with wealth, so far as it makes us beneficial to others; with poverty, for not having much to care for; and with obscurity, for being unenvied.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
Let thy discontents be thy secrets; if the world knows them ’twill despise thee and increase them.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won’t have to hunt for happiness.
—William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) English Liberal Statesman, Prime Minister
It is a great blessing to possess what one wishes, said one to an ancient philosopher.—It is a greater still, was the reply, not to desire what one does not possess.
—William Temple (1881–1944) British Clergyman, Theologian
Contentment produces, in some measure, all those effects which the alchemist ascribes to what he calls the philosopher’s stone; and if it does not bring riches, it does the same thing by banishing the desire of them. If it cannot remove the disquietudes arising from a man’s mind, body, or fortune, it makes him easy under them.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Agur said, “Give me neither poverty nor riches”; and this will ever be the prayer of the wise. Our incomes should be like our shoes: if too small, they will gall and pinch us, but if too large, they will cause us to stumble and to trip. But wealth, after all, is a relative thing, since he that has little, and wants less, is richer than he that has much, but wants more. True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Whether happiness may come or not, one should try and prepare one’s self to do without it.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world; and if, in the present life, his happiness arises from the subduing of his desires, it will arise in the next from the gratification of them.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
There are some days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
—Salvador Dali (1904–89) Spanish Painter
A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content.
—Common Proverb
People are never free of trying to be content.
—Murray Bookchin (1921–2006) Social Ecologist, Anarchist, Trade-Union Organizer
I don’t want to own anything that won’t fit into my coffin.
—Fred Allen (1894–1956) American Humorist, Radio Personality
The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied.
—Lucretius (c.99–55 BCE) Roman Epicurean Poet, Philosopher
The noblest mind the best contentent has.
—Edmund Spenser (1552–99) English Poet
If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Puritan Writer, Preacher
The fountain of content must spring up in the mind; and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he proposes to remove.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
If the principles of contentment are not within us, the height of station and worldly grandeur will as soon add a cubit to a man’s stature as to his happiness.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
My motto is: Contented with little, yet wishing for more.
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834) British Essayist, Poet
I’d rather be a few pounds heavier and enjoy life than be worried all the time.
—Drew Barrymore (b.1975) American Actress, Producer, Director
One who is contented with what he has done will never become famous for what he will do.—He has lain down to die, and the grass is already growing over him.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
A man who finds no satisfaction in himself, seeks for it in vain elsewhere.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
One should be either sad or joyful. Contentment is a warm sty for eaters and sleepers.
—Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) American Playwright
To be content with life—or to live merrily, rather—all that is required is that we bestow on all things only a fleeting, superficial glance; the more thoughtful we become the more earnest we grow.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist