Santosha
सन्तोष (santoṣa)
Contentment as discipline - the practiced acceptance of what is present, prior to any improvement of it. Read in English
संतोष — अनुशासन के रूप में तृप्ति; सुधार की योजना से पहले, जो उपस्थित है उसकी अभ्यस्त स्वीकृति।
Santosha appears among the niyamas, the positive observances of yoga, which makes an important claim: contentment is a practice, not a mood. It is something done, repeatedly, on ordinary days - not a temperament some people are born with.
It must be distinguished from resignation. Resignation abandons the future; santosha simply declines to poison the present with it. One can work hard to change circumstances tomorrow while refusing to spend today in rehearsed dissatisfaction.
The mechanics are humble. Complete a thing and let completion register. Eat without a screen. Name, once a day, one sufficiency - warmth, water, a working body. The niyama does not ask you to pretend abundance; it asks you to stop overlooking it.