- Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking the whole world belong to you. [Lao-Tzu, Poem 44.]
Being rich is being happy with what you have. My father taught me this as he aged. He would walk out of our farmhouse late in the evening and look at the stars. We had very little money but my father was rich because he could see the stars. I cannot think of a simpler or more important thing that he could have taught me about happiness, and he did not need to utter a word. Occasionally he would comment about how in awe he was of being able to see the universe from his garage doorway. If you live like that, you will live well.
Real
True Narratives
Book narratives:
- Tony Judt, The Memory Chalet (Penguin, 2009): As his physical health declined from ALS, “ . . . night after night, before the blissful interlude of sleep — before waking in exactly the same position he had assumed hours earlier — he ranged back over his life, shaping little incidents into short, plangent memory-excursions, each tied to a particular place, theme or object. Over the course of the following day or days he would, with increasing difficulty, dictate the night’s mental excursions to an assistant.”
Imaginary
Visual Arts
- Maxfield Parrish, Contentment (1927)
- Agostino Carracci, Democritus
Music: songs and other short pieces
- Bob Dylan, Moonlight
- Franz Schubert (composer), Der Zufriedene (The Contented One), D. 320 (1815) (lyrics)
Film and Stage
From the dark side:
- Manhattan, Woody Allen’s “seriocomic dissection of perpetually dissatisfied New Yorkers” pokes fun at us from the dark side of desire
Poetry
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking the whole world belongs to you. [Lao-Tzu, Poem 44.]
Other poems:
- Robert Frost, “Leaves Compared with Flowers” (analysis)
- Theodore Roethke, “The Right Thing”
- John Keats, “Meg Merrilies”
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Guitar works of Napoléon Coste (Naxos has released five volumes of this music, performed by Jeffrey McFadden: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4; Vol. 5.)
- Variations et finale sur un motif favori de la famille Suisse de Weigl, Op. 2
- Deux Quadrilles de Contredanses, Op. 3
- Fastaisie sur un motif du ballet d’armind, Op. 4
- Souvenirs de Flanders, Op. 5
- Fantaisie de concert, Op. 6
- Seize valses favorites de Johann Strauss, Op. 7
- Divertissement sur Lucia di Lammermoor, Op. 9
- Grand Caprice, Op. 11
- Rondeau de concert avec introduction, Op. 12
- Caprice sur l’air espagnol “La Cachucha”, Op. 13
- Deuxième polonaise, Op. 14
- Le tournoi, Op. 15
- Fantaisie on Themes from Bellini’s Norma, Op. 16
- La romanesca, Op. 19b
- Grande Serenade, Op. 30
- 25 Études, Op. 38
- Feuilles D’Automne Douze Valses, Op. 41
- La Ronde de Mai, Op. 42
- Marche Funèbre et Rondeau, Op. 43
- Souvenir du Jura, Op. 44: Andante et Polonaise
- Divagation (Wandering), Op. 45
Along the same lines, the solo guitar lends itself brilliantly to the value of being content, especially from Spanish composers. Here are collections of guitar pieces composed by:
Other compositions:
- Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 (1814)
- Gounod, Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1855)
- Lauro, Venezuelan Waltzes for Guitar
- Mozzani, music for guitar, including Studies for Guitar, Six capriccios and 18 small pieces
- Wolf-Ferrari, Cello Concerto in C Major, Op. 31, "Invocazione" (1945)
- Weinberg, Flute Concerto No. 2, Op. 148 (1987)
- Raga Puriya, a Hindustani classical raag often called the king of the night ragas (performances by Shankar, Amir Khan and Desai)
- Raga Jahasammahini, a Hindustani raag for early evening (performances by Chaurasia, Deshpande and Daruwala)
Albums:
- Peter Ostroushko, “Pilgrims on the Heart Road”
- Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman, “Shady Grove”
- Dave Grisman, “Tone Poems” album I and album II
- Ballaké Sissoko, “At Peace”
- Aaron Parks, “Little Big”
- Daniel Sherrill, “From a Heritage Tree” (2022): simple bluegrass melodies played on a solo banjo made from a 275-year-old claro walnut tree