Santosha

As a result of contentment, one gains supreme happiness. — Yoga sutras

We can easily practice santosha in the beautiful moments and joyous experiences of our lives. But Patanjali asks us to be equally willing to embrace the difficult moments. — Judith Lasater

Everyone is already the living Buddha, complete, whole, perfect as you are. All this action and effort to become special is maing you very unspecial and creating a tremendous amount of pain and suffering. — Zen master Dennis Genpo Merzel

The second niyama is santosa (santosha) , or contentment. This is the choice to end our war with reality… Santosa is… an alternative way to move through the world. Instead of seeking contentment from the outside in, we find contentment from the inside out…. When we view things in this light, there are no good events or bad events, only moments in which to shine. — Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat

Santosa is having a sense of modesty and the feeling of being content with what we have. To be at peace within comes from fostering contentment with one’s life, even while experiencing its challenges. When we accept that life is a process for growth, all of the circumstances and experiences we create for ourselves become valid teachers and vehicles for expressing our highest nature. Accepting that there is a purpose for everything – yoga calls it karma – we can cultivate contentment and compassion, for ourselves and for others. Santosa means being happy with what we have rather than being unhappy about what we don’t have.