Celtic monks

What makes us content? What leads to clarity of mind — to soul clarity? Is it the striving for what we want, or do we find it the way the monks of Ireland found it?

From Daniel Taylor, In Search of Sacred Places: Looking for Wisdom on Celtic Holy Islands:

We do not want to live their lives, but we want very much something they seemed to have – something we can’t quite put our finger on.  Perhaps we want clarity.  They were clear in their minds and hearts about the ultimate purpose and meaning of life.  They knew why they were alive and what they were to do with the short time they had.  Amid all their striving they had a peace about things, an acceptance of the world and their place in it – and, paradoxically, a determination to change that world and themselves.  They were forever blessing things and forever trying to make things better.  They fit into their world in a way in which many of us do not quite fit into ours.  In a word, they were content.