one and/or the other
As I sit here and pen (key?) this entry, I am no more than 15 metres from the water’s edge. I drink plunger coffee and my favourite music plays in the background. I am relaxed, and much more so than I have been in recent memory. In the last two days I have done little and thought much. It is good for the soul.
There are two words which I have been dwelling upon during my random moments of reflection: satisfaction and fulfilment. Think for a moment and see if you can decide – can you have only one and not the other? Perhaps at some occasions you can have both? Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself…
I find that I experience moments of satisfaction, but I always desire ongoing fulfilment. Events and circumstances can be momentarily satisfying, but if that is all they leave me longing for more. In stark contrast, normal life may be thrilling or mundane, but if it fits into the definition of fulfilling it brings me great comfort.
Life is more than fleeting satisfaction. Life is both one and the other.
on April 7th, 2007 at 6:59pm
I think not, personally.
How can something which does not fulfill one, bring one true satisfaction? and should a person be lucky enough to find their lives truly fulfilling, they then would have no reason to feel dissatisfied with it.
on April 7th, 2007 at 11:40pm
All this talk of fulfillment and satisfaction – I’m totally confused… Surely there are rules against using the same large words so many times in the one article/comment. :S
on April 11th, 2007 at 12:23pm
see I kinda agree with Rachel. I`ve thought about it and realised that fulfillment IS satisfaction. however that being said does that mean that if God Fulfills us that we are satisfied?? That then means that we are no longer hungry for God, but rather just satisfied by what we already have of him. Not having a desire for more means that we are thrown into a feeling of dissatisfaction, which then contradicts the fulfillment of God in our lives. So while having fulfillment can be seen as satisfaction, Satisfaction isn`t always achieved through fulfillment. make sense??
peace
skuba
on April 11th, 2007 at 11:47pm
Glad to see the comments flowing in. This has prompted much more discussion than I would have thought!
Let me add some description to flesh out the context here. I don’t think being satisfied means being so full that there is no need to do anything more, in the complacent or apathetic sense. I intend my use of the concept of satisfaction here to describe a feeling or awareness, at any given moment, of the pleasure, significance or value of that moment.
So for me, satisfaction seems to be a feeling, whereas on the other hand, fulfilment seems to me to be a perspective. Fulfilment will satisfy in the “needing nothing more” sense, but it might not bring a feeling or awareness of being satisfied in every moment. In order to always feel the satisfaction from experiencing fulfilment, one must maintain good perspective.
@ Rachel: How can something which does not fulfil one, bring one true satisfaction? Well, because satisfaction is a feeling, couldn’t one experience the feeling, even for a fleeting moment, by casting the desire for long-standing fulfilment aside and being abandoned to the feeling? I think this is not necessarily desirable – if I abandon the pursuit of fulfilment for temporary satisfaction, the end result is usually dissatisfaction.
@ Skuba: If God brings us fulfilment, and because of it we become complacent and fail to strive for anything more or better, this is a problem. But fulfilment can bring a feeling of satisfaction which is like positive reinforcement, spurring us on to keep pursuing fulfilment. However, I would comment that satisfaction achieved without an overriding perspective of fulfilment will most likely be a dissatisfying experience in the grand scheme.
Keep the comments rolling…
on April 12th, 2007 at 11:24pm
not satisfied with your definitions (pun not intended. well, maybe a little), i looked them up in the dictionary (Macquarie, if you’re interested).
fulfil: 1) to carry out, or bring to consummation, as a prophecy, promise etc. 2) to perform or do, as duty; obey or follow, as commands. 4) to bring to an end, finish or complete, as a period of time.
satisfy: 1) to fulfil the desires, expectations, needs, or demands of, or content (a person, mind, etc)
in fact, one of the definitions for fulfil is “to satisfy”. it seems though, that you (and general consensus) are justified in saying satisfaction is a feeling, as satisfaction is a fulfilment of desires, which are linked to feelings.
i think we can have fulfilment in areas of our life but not as a whole, that would mean we are finished/ perfected, ie dead. Skuba, God brings us fulfilment in areas of our lives, but we are by no means completed. people are dynamic, not static, with stages to be completed/ fulfilled. i believe God will fulfil us, when we get to heaven.
i think you can have fulfilment without the feeling of satisfaction. i also believe you can feel satisfied without being fulfilled. it revolves around the fact that satisfaction is based on desires and expectations and fulfilment is task (or perspective) orientated. we may place unreasonable expectations upon an area of our life and though we experience fulfilment, we do not feel the satisfaction of it and vice versa.
something to think about. or to debate if you wish.