For children, - Contentment in Islam: Secret of true Happiness,

As we all pass through life looking at people and materialistic things
around us, we often tend to look at people above us and desire to be
like them. But Islam advises us to look at those below us and feel
contempt at what Allah (SWT) has provided us. Listed below would be
some practical suggestions on achieving this contentment and repelling
the greed of want of more.
Note: Contentmentis the neuro-physiological experience of satisfaction
and being at ease in one's situation. It is said that a man complained
about his old shoes until he saw a man who had no feet.
"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the
realization of how much you already have."
Greedfor More: A Fact of Human Nature
Contentment is one of the most important prerequisites for happinessin
life, and, unfortunately, many of us don't have it. We have a good car
that meets our needs, but we always want a nicer, more expensive one -
a Mercedes or a Jaguar perhaps. We have a nice house, but we always
want a bigger, fancier, more expensive one. More jewelry, fancier
clothes, a boat. The list goes on. We always think about more rather
than saying, "Alhamdulillah," for what we already have.
Prophet Muhammed (saws) said: "Remember death repeatedly. This will
save you from longing for the worldly pleasures. Show gratitude
frequently and this will increase the graces upon you. Pray to Allah
(SWT) so recurrently, because you do not know in which time Allah
(SWT) will respond for your prayer. Beware of tyranny, for Allah (SWT)
has ordained that HE will support those whom are oppressed."
Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) said: "If a son of Adam (as) possessed two vast
valleys wherein gold and silver flowed, he would still wish to search
for the third one."
Imam Musa Kazem (as) said: "The world is like water of the sea, the
man who is thirsty, the more he drinks water of it the more he becomes
thirsty, until the water kills him in the end!"
Things that Lure us Out of Contentment
A good rule for developing contentment is to always look at the people
who have less than us, not the ones who have more. In America, this is
difficult because almost all advertising is geared toward showing us
people who have more than us and enticing us to want it. They show us
beautiful cars, beautiful houses, handsome men, and beautiful women.
And we can get it all with a credit card. If our lives don't match the
ad, we should make a change - buy a new car, get a new wife, give her
a bigger diamond!
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember
that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."
Muslims Falling Prey to Materialism
Even Muslims have fallen into this trap. Many drive expensive cars far
beyond their needs, not just for dependability, but for prestige or to
make people say, "Wow!" These Muslims have been deceived, duped by the
multi billion dollar advertising industry - the chief enemy of
contentment, the chief advocate of a lifestyle of constant wanting.
Many children are the same. They have grown up surrounded by
advertisements on TV, on the radio, and on billboards. They want
everything they see, and they expect to get it now! But how can we
teach them to be content, if we are not content ourselves? Instead of
wanting everything we see, we need to learn to resist. Instead of
letting our children have everything they want, we need to teach them
to be thankful for what they have.

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