Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory...

"Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted..."
"What happened?"
"He lived happily ever after."

Why?

Because he was content with what he had received. He decided what he wanted, and created a plan to achieve it, and put that plan in motion.

In the movie, the plan worked out, but, given the personality of Mr. Willy Wonka, there was probably a Plan B, if all of the children that showed up with Golden Tickets washed out.

When he achieved his goal (someone to take over the factory), he was content.

Can I:

1- Decide what I want?
2- Create a plan to get what I want? (And a Plan B)
3- Put the plan into motion?
4- Be content with reaching my goal?

A famous tycoon once defined enough: "Just a little bit more [than what he already had]." I'll go a little farther and say that he exactly defined "greed".

I am happy and grateful for all the things and people that are in my life, and in the lives of my family, and, to quote another fictional character, "Enough is as good as a feast."

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory...

The Journey of Our Lives

As humans, our ideal lifespan is approximately 100 years. During that time, hopefully we will learn a few things on the journey that we call "Life":

- That we are all similar... we all want clean water, food, shelter, warmth and safety for ourselves and better than we had for our children.

- Pain and suffering is normal in the human experience. We do our best to avoid it, but it is part and parcel of our experience on the planet.

- Joy and happiness is also normal in the human experience. We do our best to maximize the time that we enjoy it, but its time is short and fleeting.

- Difficulties and successful times test and temper the strength of our character and personality.

- In difficulty - What kind of person are we when we are doing worse than our friends and associates? Do we become petulant, or feel sorry for ourselves? Do we feel that others deserve our misfortune more than we do? Are we jealous of those who are doing better than we are?

- In success - What kind of person are we when we are doing better than our friends and associates? Do we become complacent and arrogant? Do we feel that we deserve what we have more than others do? Do we despise those who do not have what we have? Success has its own pitfalls; many who survived adversity, failed the test of success.

The only thing that we can count on is that things will change. The only way that we can survive the highs as well as the lows, is to be content no matter where we are, or what we have. To develop contentment is to plant seeds of happiness in our lives that will bloom even during times of adversity.
©2007 LaVeda H. Mason All Rights Reserved.

The Journey of Our Lives