Contentment

“It does not matter that my house is rather small;

One cannot sleep in more than one room:

It does not matter that I have not many horses;

One cannot ride on two horses at once:

As fortunate as me among the people of the world

Possibly one would find seven out of ten,

As contented as me among a hundred men

Look as you may, you will not find one.

AD 835 – Chinese poem translated by Arthur Waley.”

Thus starts my current novel, “Legacy” by Charlotte Grey.

I read this beginning during the ads, while half watching “Location Location Location” (Channel 4 at 8pm on Thursday).

I couldn’t help thinking the young couples house hunting could do with reading those verses as they bemoaned how small the huge houses they were taken to see were & which were extortionately expensive to my mind, almost more than they could afford.

There are some huge houses near us, positively mansions, & I react in the same. I feel no desire for them. The two of us would just be rattling around in them. It would be a constant job trying to keep them clean & tidy, and for what - status? Image? I am content with our “small” house. I suspect if we ever move it will be into something smaller, a flat perhaps, or a care home. It won’t be into something bigger no matter how much money we had.

There seems a great discontent in today’s society, always wanting something more. And yet at the end of the day you can only sleep in one room, ride one horse, so why worry about not having more?

That’s not to say I don’t appreciate a certain quality in that one room, one horse. Thus we ended up at the Volvo garage on Saturday, looking at new cars. They’re certainly comfortable, if not with all the gadgetry of some new models of cheaper marques. We’re off for a test drive later this week.