you can’t always get what you want

“true contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for diogenes, but a world was too little for alexander.“ charles colton

several days ago, i rode the mrt going to makati with a friend. it was hot and humid.. and i was tired and unbelievably thirsty. all i wanted at that time was a full glass of ice-cold drink.

so i went to this hotdog stand and bought my iced tea (P25 for a medium-sided cup!? sheesh) i could have gotten myself a drink at a cheaper price.. but i was really desperate then.. so i didn’t much care. it took me only a couple of gulps to drain the cup. aaaahh.. that felt really good :) i think that was the best iced tea drink i’ve ever had, hahaha :)

the queue for the mrt tickets was really long, so my friend and i stood in line for quite some time. there were a lot of beverage stands there at the station.. but iced tea no longer appealed to me. i wasn’t interested in getting myself another cup.. not for P10.. not even for free! haha.. i went from desperately longing for iced tea to bland indifference in a matter of minutes.

and i’m sure i’m not alone in this. every one of us has had, at one time or another, an “iced tea experience.” oh, you know.. like those times when you feel you just *have* to buy that great pair of jeans.. or when you’re *absolutely sure* that the only thing that can make you happy is the newest cell phone model.. or when you think that *if only* you could get your dream house (or the “man of your dreams” perhaps?!) then you’ll be happy forever. hmm. unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way.

we are not naturally wired for contentment. as neil gaiman said, “the price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted.” no matter how high our dreams may be, once we achieve them, we realize that we still long to have more. eventually, we find that nothing satisfies us - not wealth, not fame, not success, not even great friendships. nope, we can’t always get what we want. because once we get the stuff we *think* we want, they somehow diminish in value.. and we go off searching once more for who-knows-what.

“..Be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

(Heb 13:5)

perhaps it’s time for us to listen to this advice :) the Lord is always with us.. ever-present, ever-giving, ever-loving. His blessings are new every morning. and wonderful though the gifts may be, they all pale in comparison to the value of the Giver :)

if we truly make the Lord our heart’s desire, He is sure to satisfy - not just for a moment.. not even just for a lifetime.. but for all eternity :)

what more can we ask for? :)