Contentment? Humbug!

I heard Len Goodman talking to Chris Evans on the radio this morning, saying he was perfectly content. Lucky man!

Not much to ask for, surely!

I went shopping yesterday for two pretty basic things: a tablecloth (having succumbed to a sudden flush of domesticity) and a stamper that I can use to mark my yoga students' attendance tickets. Neither was to be found, not even for ready money, to coin a phrase. The town looked very shiny and twinkly, but the people looked mithered and grumpy. I came home cold and miserable.

I know that true contentment doesn't come from outside influences, but sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in the guff that surrounds Christmas. When did a new sofa become a yuletide essential, for Pete's sake!

I need to remind myself of the yogic concept of vairagyam, or non-attachment. As Patanjali has it: 'The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.'

Deep breath - and relax.