--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have moved to a level where we have…" description: "\"“We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and contentment largely impossible. We have created a pseudo-happiness, largely based in having ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/richard-rohr-618_contentment_we-have-moved-to-a-level-where-we-have-m_2607529.png" --- # We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and… ![“We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and contentment largely impossible. We have created a pseudo-happiness, largely based in having instead of being. We are so overstimulated that the ordinary no longer delights us. We cannot rest or abide in our naked being in God, as Jesus…” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/richard-rohr-618_contentment_we-have-moved-to-a-level-where-we-have-m_2607529.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/richard-rohr-618_contentment_we-have-moved-to-a-level-where-we-have-m_2607529.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/richard-rohr-618_contentment_we-have-moved-to-a-level-where-we-have-m_2607529.png) > ““We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and contentment largely impossible. We have created a pseudo-happiness, largely based in having instead of being. We are so overstimulated that the ordinary no longer delights us. We cannot rest or abide in our naked being in God, as Jesus offers us.”” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques modern society's pursuit of material happiness over spiritual rest, urging return to simple being. **In simple terms:** We chase possessions, losing true contentment. Key Takeaway Seek inner peace over material excess. Themes spirituality materialism contentment overstimulation faith Mood contemplative serene inspirational Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - daily life - consumer habits - quiet meditation Key Concepts theology psychology cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice stillness? - What does ‘being’ mean to you? A Different Perspective Spiritual practice can be challenging in busy life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Contentment Largely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment-largely-1998365/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness And Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-contentment/) [Happiness Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-contentment/) [Pseudo Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pseudo-happiness-1998366/) [Rest Abide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-abide-1998367/) ## Related quotes > [I have received and I want to give. This is the path to happiness and contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/i-have-received-and-i-want-to-give-this-is-the-path-to-happiness-and/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [“It is downright incredible that an extremely significant proportion of people make the wrong choice. But the good news is that we can course-correct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamees-alhassar/it-is-downright-incredible-that-an-extremely-significant-proportion/) [Lamees Alhassar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamees-alhassar/) > [“The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-happiness-which-brings-enduring-worth-to-life-is-not-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“What is the difference between happiness and contentment?" “Well, happy is like when somebody gives you a big hunk of something wonderful and it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/what-is-the-difference-between-happiness-and-contentment-well-happy/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Men who are driven are happy in their work and their vision but are not happy-go-lucky. Evelyn has a happiness and contentment most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oral-roberts/men-who-are-driven-are-happy-in-their-work-and-their-vision-but-are/) [Oral Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oral-roberts/) > [When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subside and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/when-the-turbulence-of-distracting-thoughts-subside-and-our-mind/) [Geshe Kelsang Gyatso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/) > [The best recipe for happiness and contentment I've seen is this: dig a big hole in the garden of your thoughts and put into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/the-best-recipe-for-happiness-and-contentment-i-ve-seen-is-this-dig-a/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [As we sometimes find one thing while we are looking for another, so, if truth escaped me, happiness and contentment fell in my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/as-we-sometimes-find-one-thing-while-we-are-looking-for-another-so-if/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [“opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be continually remade at every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is-a-decision-that-we-can-make/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“Happiness and contentment, equability of mind and meaningfulness of life – these can be experienced only by the individual and not by a State,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/happiness-and-contentment-equability-of-mind-and-meaningfulness-of/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-happiness-which-brings-enduring-worth-to-life-is-not-the-2/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“I suggest this: When you get to be thirty, forty, fifty, or even seventy years old, you'll get more happiness and contentment out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shriver/i-suggest-this-when-you-get-to-be-thirty-forty-fifty-or-even-seventy/) [Mark Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shriver/) > [Certain individuals and events impact on our lives and leave their mark on us. Some a feeling of happiness and contentment, while others hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/certain-individuals-and-events-impact-on-our-lives-and-leave-their/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Happiness is in contentment, gratitude, and love. It is a lifestyle, not a location](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/happiness-is-in-contentment-gratitude-and-love-it-is-a-lifestyle-not/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [The top of the band would be happiness, contentment and peace of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-top-of-the-band-would-be-happiness-contentment-and-peace-of-mind/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [We don't have much wisdom about the second half when things really open up and end up looking a lot more progressive. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-don-t-have-much-wisdom-about-the-second-half-when-things-really/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-you-do-not-transform-your-wounds-you-will-transmit-them/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The real spiritual journey is work. You can make a naïve assertion that you trust in Jesus, but until it is tested a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-real-spiritual-journey-is-work-you-can-make-a-na-ve-assertion/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The soul needs meaning as much as the body needs food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-soul-needs-meaning-as-much-as-the-body-needs-food/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) [Explore all 443 Richard Rohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) [Jennie Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-rooney/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and contentment largely impossible. We have created a pseudo-happiness, largely based in having instead of being. We are so overstimulated that the ordinary no longer delights us. 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