Simply Content: Ora Et Labora

Thomas Aquinas said, “Happiness is the goal of all human activity. The search for happiness is the common ground on which all human desires, all human ambitions meet.”

But research shows that, despite spending more money per capita on wellness products than any other country, America is far unhappier than other developed nations.

In fact, each American generation is unhappier than the one that came before it and global unhappiness hit a record high in 2021.

That’s pretty depressing…

But I’m not here to bring your Sunday morning down.

On the contrary, I’d like to offer an antidote to the unhappiness and discontentment that seems to be plaguing the world.

In Michael Easter’s book Scarcity Brain, he spends an entire chapter talking about the Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in New Mexico.

Why?

Because research showed that the Benedictine Monks had cracked the happiness code.

Not by trying to be happy, though… funnily enough, the monks’ goal is only to be “simply content”.

Not too much, not too little. Enough.

So why are the Benedictine Monks so happy?

Their life is very simple and very routine, consisting primarily of only two things: prayer and work.

Spending time with God through prayer is their number one priority.

But work is their secondary priority, as the Benedictines see work as an integral part of their spiritual life.

The monks pray often, starting at 3:30 AM.

But you expect monks to pray a lot.

Their work is really what’s unexpected because Benedictine Monks are unique in the way they work.

There’s even a Frech expression “un travail de benedictin” which means “a Benedictine labor.”

It refers to the kind of work that unapologetically takes time. You can’t rush it. It’s steady, patient and methodical but very high in quality.

Manual labor is a large part of their day; farming, gardening, and maintenance of the monastery.

But the monks at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery also sell freshly roasted coffee to cover the monastery’s expenses.

They used to make and sell beautiful hand carved furniture from mahogany and mesquite but stopped when demand for their furniture increased.

Because with the increase in demand, came deadlines that the monks had no interest in meeting.

Brother Cajetin, a monk at Our Lady of Guadalupe, shared with Easter that, “We have a different schedule than the modern world and a different calling. There is a reason that ora comes first in ‘ora et labora.’ So we gave it [the furniture] up and now do coffee.”

I believe this is a huge part of why Benedictine Monks appear to have cracked the happiness code.

They understand the importance of work but also know that it isn’t their number one priority.

As soon as the arbitrary deadlines for their furniture started being enforced, they let it go because it interfered with their number one priority: prayer.

The monks’ approach to happiness doesn’t fit in today’s world (you know, the one that hit the record for being unhappy).

Our world runs on service of self and the never ending pursuit of ‘happiness.’

We do this by accumulating more stuff, expecting next-day delivery, DoorDashing a burger when there’s food in the fridge, and sacrificing quality to maximize output and profit.

While the Benedictine Monks’ world is built on community and the goal of simply being content.

And they do it through consistent prayer and slow, meaningful work.

Writing this is a reminder for me to check my priorities because I know I rarely put prayer before work and I’m often spending money in hopes of buying ‘happiness’.

But I think we can all take a page from the Benedictine Monks’ book and prioritize prayer above all else, pour ourselves into quality work, and seek to be simply content.

Ora et labora.

———————————————————————————————————

This post was inspired by chapter 11 of Michael Easter’s book Scarcity Brain. It’s an incredible book and this article just scratched the surface. If you want to get a copy of the book, you can find it here.

Disclaimer: that is an affiliate link and I will receive a small commission if you click the link and make a purchase.